Al Nassr struggled in Cristiano Ronaldo’s absence on Monday, when the Saudi club kicked off the revamped Asian Champions League with a 1-1 draw against Al Shorta in Iraq.

Al Nassr captain Ronaldo did not travel with the squad for the match in Baghdad, with the club issuing a statement a day before stating that the Portuguese superstar had been diagnosed with a viral infection.

The statement read: “Al-Nassr captain Cristiano Ronaldo wasn’t feeling well today and was diagnosed with a viral infection.

“The team’s doctor confirmed he needs to rest and stay at his place.

“As a result, he will not be travelling with the team to Iraq today. We wish a speedy recovery to our captain.”

Al Nassr, who were knocked out of last season’s Asian Champions League in the quarter-finals by eventual champions Al Ain, were given a dream start in the Iraqi capital, when full-back Sultan Al Ghannam met Otavio’s astute, first-time pass on 14 minutes to finish low past Al Shorta goalkeeper Ahmed Basil.

Ronaldo is yet to win a major trophy with Al-Nassr since joining the Saudi club.

as NNPC set Dangote petrol price at N950 per litre

Hopes for a potential reduction in petrol prices, following the commencement of supply from Dangote Refinery, were dashed, yesterday, as NNPC Limited released a new pricing template that raised pump prices by about 11 per cent to N950 per litre.

The pump price of petrol was increased by over 45 per cent two weeks ago, apparently in anticipation of the refinery’s output.

But amid disagreements between NNPC and Dangote Refinery over price of the product, a statement by Chief Corporate Communications Officer, NNPC, Olufemi Soneye, clarified that Dangote petrol will not sell cheaper.

A document, titled “Estimated pump price based on Dangote Refinery September 2024 PMS supply”, showed that petrol from the refinery will have a base cost of N898 per litre.

Additional costs such as Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, NMDPRA, charge of N4.495, Midstream and Gas Infrastructure Fund (MDGIF) charge of N4.495, distribution and logistics cost of N42.45 all added up to bring the effective pump price in Lagos area to N950.22 per litre from the current rate of N855 per litre.

NNPC also adjusted the price of the product across the country for its stations with Abuja now at N992.22 per litre from N897. The price for Kaduna, Kano and Sokoto has also increased to N992.22 while consumers in Borno area will pay the highest pump price at N1,019 per litre. Prices in Port Harcourt and Imo have been increased to N980.22 per litre.

NNPC insisted that it loaded the product at N898 per litre from Dangote and challenged anyone with contrary figures to make it public.

The company stated: “The NNPC Ltd also wishes to state that in line with the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act, PIA, PMS prices are not set by government, but negotiated directly between parties.

“The NNPC Ltd can confirm that it is paying Dangote Refinery in dollars for September 2024 PMS offtake, as Naira transactions will only commence on October 1st, 2024.

“The NNPC Ltd assures that if the quoted pricing is disputed, it will be grateful for any discount from the Dangote Refinery, which will be passed on 100% to the general public.

“Attached to this statement are the estimated pump prices of PMS (obtained from Dangote Refinery) across NNPC Retail stations in the country, based on September 2024 pricing.”

NNPC completes lifting 16.5m litres

Meanwhile Vanguard findings yesterday, showed that the NNPCL has completed lifting of 16.8 million litres of petrol allocated to it.

A competent source in the refinery said: “NNPCL has completed lifting the 16.8million allocated it. The product would be discharged into retail outlets, thus assisting to ease shortage in the country.”

Meanwhile, checks indicated that depot owners and oil and marketers have not started to take delivery of the product.

A depot owner, who spoke to Vanguard said: “We are still lifting imported petrol from NNPCL at N766 per litre. We don’t know what price the Dangote Refinery product will be sold to us. We look forward to discussing with the NNPCL.”

Also, an independent marketer, who pleaded to be anonymous, said: “We have not started selling Dangote Refinery petrol. In fact, we are not even sure of what the price would be. But I can confirm that we are still lifting imported product from depot owners at N875 per litre.”

Consumers should expect N1, 200 per litre — Marketers

On his part, with NNPC selling at almost a thousand naira in Abuja, the Public Relations Officer, Independent Petroleum Marketers Association, IPMAN, Chief Chinedu Ukadike, said consumers should expect to pay as much as N1,200 per litre in outlets operated by other marketers.

“You can expect the price to be significantly higher than what you have at NNPC stations. Depending on how much depot owners are getting from NNPC, price may rise to between N1, 200 and N1,300 per litre in most parts of the north.

“We don’t know yet how much NNPC will sell and for independent marketers, things will even get more difficult because we don’t have direct access to products from NNPC. We have to buy from those who bought from NNPC,” he stated.

He had earlier lamented that the continued closure of NNPC Retail portal meant they would not be able to get access to petrol supplied by the Dangote Refinery through NNPC Limited.

Ukadike explained that the group which owned the majority of petrol stations across the country had also not been informed by NNPC of how it would get supply.

“We are happy that Dangote’s supply has commenced and we have another source of petroleum product supply. We are also not against the policy of selling the product to NNPC. The independent marketers are saying we also want the refinery to deal directly with us. We have the highest number of filling stations and will be the best partners for the refinery.

“We have not heard anything from NNPC. We are still waiting for their portal to open, so we can make purchases because since the issue started, NNPC has not opened its portal.”

When contacted to know the price NNPC Limited will be supplying other marketers as the sole off-taker of petrol from Dangote Refinery, Mr Soneye said the company was in discussion with the marketers.

Similarly, IPMAN National Welfare Officer, John Kekeocha, stated: “If Dangote products becomes higher than the imported products, then it doesn’t make sense. What is esence of the celebration we have been having all this while?”

Speaking on Channels Television’s The Morning Breakfast programme yesterday, he said the government should try to address all downstream problems and deliver petrol to consumers at an affordable rate.

Dangote keeps mum

However, the Group Chief Branding and Communications Officer of Dangote Refinery, Anthony Chiejina, did not respond to enquiries on the new facts yesterday.

But in his earlier statement Chiejine said Nigerians should “await a formal announcement on the pricing, by the Technical Sub-Committee on Naira-based crude sales to local refineries, appointed by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, which will commence on October 1, 2024, bearing in mind that our current stock of crude was procured in dollars.”

Sector requires increased transparency — DAPPMAN

However, Olufemi Adewole, Executive Secretary, Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria, DAPPMAN, said: “The downstream sector needs to operate transparently in a manner that gives all stakeholders the opportunity to thrive and contribute significantly to the quest of ensuring availability, reliability and accessibility of petroleum products nation-wide.”

We’ve supplied more than 48m barrels to Dangote refinery — NNPCL

Meanwhile, the NNPCL, yesterday, said it has so far released 48,622,741 barrels of crude to Dangote refinery for processing.

In a document titled – Number of barrels of crude made available to Dangote Refinery, NNPCL, stated that 3,424,584 barrels, 3,477,214 barrels and 3,290,723 barrels were supplied in December 2023, February 2024 and March 2024, respectively.

The company said 3,330,537 barrels, 3,021,368 barrels, 5, 108,050 barrels and another 5, 108,050 barrels, were supplied in April, May, June and July 2024, respectively.

It also maintained that 4,797,215 barrels, 5,350, 000 barrels and 11,715,000 barrels were supplied to the refinery in August, September and October 2024, respectively.

The Nigerian government has begun a free programme to convert petrol-powered commercial vehicles to run on Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) in Ibadan and Zaria, as part of efforts to promote cleaner energy and reduce fuel costs after the removal of subsidies.

In Ibadan, around 100 vehicles were converted at three locations, including a Mobil filling station on the Lagos-Ibadan expressway and two other sites in the city.

Louisa Afu, Business Development Executive of the Presidential CNG initiative, said the project aims to help vehicle owners cut costs while contributing to a cleaner environment.

Afu noted that the initiative, part of President Bola Tinubu’s push for sustainable energy, would expand to other regions. “Gas is cheaper, more sustainable, and safer,” she said, adding that Nigeria’s abundant gas reserves made CNG a viable alternative to petrol.

Local transport officials praised the programme as a positive step for the sector, though some, like CNG user Sowole Jayeola, called for further reductions in conversion costs to encourage more widespread adoption.

In Zaria, the government also launched its CNG initiative, starting with 50 vehicles. Dauda Suleiman, Team Lead at the National Institute for Transport Technology Centre, said the conversion kits were being provided for free to commercial drivers in the region.

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited says it purchased premium motor spirit (PMS), also known as petrol, from the Dangote Petroleum Refinery in dollars.

In a social media post on Monday, the NNPC said naira transactions would commence on October 1.

“The NNPC Ltd can confirm that it is paying Dangote Refinery in USD for September 2024 PMS offtake, as Naira transactions will only commence on October 1st, 2024,” the statement reads.

NNPC also released the estimated pump price of petrol based on prices set by the Dangote refinery.

On September 14, Wale Edun, the minister of finance, had said from October 1, the refinery would supply PMS and diesel to the domestic market in naira.

“From October 1, NNPC Ltd. will commence the supply of about 385,000 bpd of crude oil to the Dangote refinery, to be paid for in naira,” the minister had said.

“In return, the Dangote refinery will supply PMS and diesel of equivalent value to the domestic market, to be paid in naira.”

On September 15, the NNPC commenced petrol lifting at the refinery’s gantry after an extended period of price negotiations.

The development followed the deployment of a fleet of NNPC’s trucks to the refinery on September 14.

At the close of loading on Sunday, the NNPC had said it bought petrol from Dangote refinery at N898 per litre.

However, the Dangote refinery countered the claim, describing it as “both misleading and mischievous”.

Despite steady rise in commodity prices across the country, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has said that headline inflation rate further eased to 32.15 per cent in August 2024 relative to the July 2024 headline inflation rate of 33.40 per cent.

The August 2024 headline inflation rate showed a decrease of 1.25 per cent points when compared to the July 2024 headline inflation rate at a time the country grapples with high cost of food items, fluctuation in exchange rate and shortage to the food supply chain occasioned by insecurity.

However, on a year-on-year basis, the headline inflation rate was 6.35 per cent points higher compared to the rate recorded in August 2023 (25.80 per cent).

“This shows that the headline inflation rate (year on-year basis) increased in August 2024 when compared to the same month in the preceding year (i.e., August 2023)” the statistics bureau said in a report released on Monday.

According to the NBS, on a month-on-month basis, the headline inflation rate in August 2024 was 2.22 per cent, which was 0.06% lower than the rate recorded in August 2024 (2.28 per cent).

“This means that in August 2024, the rate of increase in the average price level is lower than the rate of increase in the average price level in July 2024,” NBS said, making nonsense of the current high cost of living in Nigeria, driven by over 354 per cent increase in gasoline.

Jose Peseiro, the former Super Eagles head coach, has disclosed d the reason he decided not to continue with the job.

The Portuguese was in charge of the three-time African champions for 22 months and guided the Super Eagles to second position at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations in Cote d’Ivoire

The 64-year-old left the post after his contract expired in February.

Peseiro said he left the post because of the pressure and stress that comes with it.

”I decided that when I finish the AFCON, I will leave. I had put too much effort in my job, it was too much stress. Everyone supported me – my family and the players but I grew fatigue, I thought it was enough for me, even if I had won the AFCON,” Peseiro told SABC Sport.

Despite the challenges he encountered while managing the Super Eagles, Peseiro said the “job was special”.

”Nigeria was an amazing job, with good players. We played very well in the AFCON. I think our team was the best until we lost to Cote d’Ivoire in the tournament,” added vastly travelled coach.

Peseiro is still without a job since leaving Nigeria. The former Venezuela coach said he is waiting for the right project.

”I am waiting for a good job, for a good step. It is true there were offers from South Africa, Europe and in Brazil as well, but I didn’t take any and feel good for those jobs. Someone called to tell me about the Sundowns job and about other things but until now, nothing special,” he remarked.

In a sharp critique of President Bola Tinubu’s leadership and trademark cap, Phrank Shaibu, Special Assistant on Public Communication to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, has likened the fate of the President’s political symbol – the broken shackle – to the swastika’s historical transformation from a symbol of good fortune to one of oppression.

In a piece titled “De-cap-itated!”, released to journalists Monday in Abuja, Shaibu drew parallels between the swastika, which was used by Adolf Hitler’s Nazi regime, and the broken shackles symbol that Tinubu and his supporters adopted during the 2023 presidential campaign.

Historically, the swastika symbolised nationalism and good fortune, representing hope across various cultures. However, its association with the Nazi regime turned it into a global emblem of fascism and hate.

Similarly, Shaibu argued that the broken shackle, initially seen as a representation of freedom and human rights as popularised by Tinubu, has now morphed into a symbol of oppression under his leadership in Nigeria.

“President Tinubu, in a campaign soapbox in Ogun State where he made the infamous Emilokan remarks, which is a selfish and arrogant ownership claim to power, has since made the broken shackle a symbol of oppression and political rascality,” Shaibu stated.

The Emilokan mantra, which translates to “it is my turn” in Yoruba, was once celebrated as a rallying cry for Tinubu’s supporters. It was worn proudly on caps adorned with the broken shackle symbol, known as ‘Emilokan’ caps.

During the campaign, the caps symbolised Tinubu’s promise to protect human rights, boost the economy, and replicate Lagos success across Nigeria.

He said the President’s supporters believed in his democratic credentials and ability to transform the nation into a prosperous economy. However, as Shaibu suggested, the reality has been far from the initial promise.

“Everyone now knows that Emilokan is not about shared prosperity for all but about a rabid appropriation of state assets to personal ownership,” Shaibu remarked.

He further accused Tinubu of building personal wealth by exploiting Lagosians, debunking the widely held belief that Tinubu’s governance was responsible for Lagos’ economic growth.

“Tinubu didn’t build Lagos. Rather, Tinubu built his wealth through the sweat of Lagosians,” he added.

The Atiku’s spokesman said the disillusionment with the Emilokan symbol has become so widespread that the caps, once proudly displayed by vendors and supporters, are now gathering dust.

“The once-eager vendors who proudly displayed the Emilokan caps at bustling traffic lights and strategic street corners now find themselves burdened by them,” Shaibu pointed out.

Once a sought-after item, he claimed that the caps have become an embarrassing relic for many of Tinubu’s supporters, representing broken promises and a political regime that has shifted towards authoritarianism.

In his analysis, Shaibu also compared Tinubu to the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo, an iconic figure in Nigerian politics known for his progressive ideals.

According to Shaibu, Tinubu’s supporters initially likened him to Awolowo, believing he would follow in the legendary leader’s footsteps by delivering a prosperous and inclusive government.

However, Shaibu dismisses this comparison as a “political impersonation fraud of grand proportions.

“Everyone now knows that Tinubu is not Awolowo,” Shaibu asserted, arguing that the notion of Tinubu as a progressive leader has crumbled in the face of his administration’s actions, which appear more focused on personal gain than on the collective good.

“The disappointment with Tinubu’s administration extends beyond the political sphere.”

Shaibu claimed that the Emilokan caps, once a potent political symbol, have now become a source of embarrassment for many Nigerians.

Just as the swastika was banned from public display after the defeat of Nazi Germany, Shaibu believed that the Emilokan caps have become relics of “political deception and disappointment.”

For Shaibu, the transformation of the Emilokan symbol is emblematic of Tinubu’s broader failure to deliver on his promises. What once represented hope, freedom, and prosperity has become a reminder of missed opportunities and growing disenchantment.

Shaibu concluded his critique by noting that the political reality of Tinubu’s presidency has fallen far short of the expectations set during the campaign.

“As Nigeria grapples with the Tinubu administration’s unfolding reality, the Emilokan symbol’s fate poignantly reflects the country’s current political climate,” he added.

The Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa has ordered probe into the alleged detention of naval personnel for six years without trial.

The Naval rating, Seaman Haruna Abbas is alleged to be held in custody for over six years on the orders of a senior officer.

The wife of the rating disclosed this while featuring on a popular Human Rights radio in Abuja.

The CDS gave the order in a statement by the Acting Director Defence Information, Brig-Gen Tukur Gusau while reacting to wife’s revelation which has now gone viral.

He said, “The Defence Headquarters (DHQ) has taken notice of a circulating video clip alleging the unjust incarceration of a Naval rating, Seaman Abbas Haruna, for six years.

“The DHQ wishes to assure the public that the Armed Forces of Nigeria remains committed to upholding justice, fairness, and the rule of law. The military court-martial process, though meticulous, ensures fairness, equal opportunity, and justice in accordance with established military procedures and the law.

“In response to this allegation, the Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Gwabin Musa, has directed an immediate investigation into the matter. The outcome of the investigation will be made public in due course”.

He urged the public to exercise caution and refrain from spreading “unsubstantiated information while the investigation is ongoing”.

He further assured Nigerians that the Armed Forces will ensure a speedy and transparent investigation.

The Nigeria Football Federation is on the verge of naming German coach Winfried Schafer as the new head coach of the Super Eagles, Soccernet.ng reports.

This decision comes after weeks of negotiations, with Schafer expected to succeed Augustine Eguavoen, who has served in an interim capacity since late August. 

According to the Guardian, NFF has reached an agreement with Schafer, who has previously managed Cameroon, Thailand, and Jamaica, to take charge of Nigeria’s senior national team.

Schafer’s experience, which includes winning the Africa Cup of Nations with Cameroon in 2002 and leading Jamaica to the Caribbean Cup title in 2014, made him a top candidate.

The NFF had initially set its sights on Bruno Labbadia, but the deal fell through due to unresolved tax issues. The federation also explored the possibility of appointing Sweden’s former coach Janne Anderson and AFCON-winning tactician Hervé Renard before settling on Schafer.

Schafer’s official unveiling is expected soon, with reports suggesting he will bring his own backroom staff. However, discussions about local assistants are ongoing.

Interim coach Eguavoen will return to his role as NFF Technical Director following Schafer’s appointment.

Fondly known as “Winnie,” Schafer’s last managerial position was with Al-Khor in Qatar in 2021. His playing career saw him feature in 403 Bundesliga matches, scoring 46 goals.

Schafer’s coaching résumé is impressive, boasting titles across various leagues, including the Bundesliga, UAE Football League, and the Caribbean Cup.

Schafer will be tasked with leading Nigeria through their crucial 2025 AFCON qualifiers and the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.