Author: Samuel Akpenpuun

Former  President of Nigeria Football  Federation (NFF), Amaju Melvin Pinnick, who lost his bid to retain his FIFA Council seat by a single vote at the Confederation of African Football General Assembly election  in Cairo on Wednesday, has expressed gratitude to President  Bola Tinubu for his support during his electioneering campaign for the position. Pinnick who thanked FIFA President, Gianni Infantino for his sincerity also expressed gratitude to the leadership of the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) He said he remains ‘unbowed, full of gratitude to God and to the throng of persons’ that had supported his push to retain  the seat on the all-powerful  FIFA…

Holders Real Madrid beat Atletico Madrid 4-2 on penalties to set up a Champions League quarter-final against Arsenal after the all-Spanish tie finished 2-2 on aggregate on Wednesday. Conor Gallagher struck in the opening minute of the second leg to bring Atletico level overall, but Real won the shootout as Julian Alvarez’s kick was disallowed for touching the ball twice before Marcos Llorente hit the bar.

Lagos state has cemented its position as one of Africa’s economic powerhouses, with its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) reaching an impressive $259 billion based on purchasing power parity (PPP). This milestone places Lagos as the second-largest economy on the continent, trailing only Cairo, Egypt. This was made known during the official launch of the Lagos Economic Development Update (LEDU) 2025 on Wednesday. According to the report, the state ranks as Africa’s second-largest city economy by purchasing power parity (PPP), following Cairo. READ ALSO: Oando Wins Bid To Operate Trinidad, Tobago’s Pointe-à-Pierre Refinery The report reveals that the state’s Gross Domestic…

President Bola Tinubu has finally brokered peace among the warring factions of the Lagos State House of Assembly over the speakership tussle, urging all members to work with the leadership of Mudashiru Obasa. The resolution brings an end to a two-month-long crisis that had threatened the stability of the House. Recall that Obasa was ousted as Speaker on January 13, 2025, by 35 out of the 40 lawmakers over allegations of high-handedness, financial misappropriation, and despotic leadership. Following his removal, Mojisola Meranda, who was his deputy, was appointed as Speaker. READ ALSO: Obasa, Meranda, Lagos Lawmakers In Meeting With Tinubu…

Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, has explained that he was denied access into the premises of the Assembly Quarters to present the 2025 Appropriation Bill despite formally notifying the leadership of the House of Assembly of his readiness to do so. Governor Fubara made the explanation during the inauguration of the Bori Zonal Hospital in Khana Local Government Area of the State on Wednesday. The Governor emphasised that, in complying with the Supreme Court judgment, it was pertinent for every actor to be more interested in saving the economy of the State and ensure that public sector workers are not…

Super Eagles star striker, Victor Osimhen, has revealed the team’s desperation to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Reflecting on Nigeria’s failure to qualify for the 2022 World Cup, the 26-year-old in a report by BBC Africa on Wednesday, described it as a “heartbreaking disappointment.” He recalled how fierce rivals Ghana snatched the ticket to Qatar after a tense play-off. “It’s every footballer’s dream to play at the World Cup, and given our situation in the group, I am desperate — like the other players — to make it to the 2026 tournament. “We suffered a big disappointment in…

The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission has arraigned an Assistant Superintendent of Immigration with the Nigerian Immigration Service, Abubakar Aseku for allegedly receiving salaries from two additional government agencies while still employed by the NIS. Aseku was brought before Justice Binta Dogonyaro of the Federal Capital Territory High Court, Apo, Abuja, on Tuesday, facing a nine-count charge bordering on abuse of office and corruption. In a statement on Wednesday, by the ICPC’s spokesman, Demola Bakare, the NIS officer allegedly received N4.2m in salaries from the Nasarawa State Ministry of Education, Science and Technology in 2015 while serving…

Four members of the Edo State House of Assembly have defected to the All Progressives Congress. The lawmakers — Hon. Donald Okugbe (Akoko Edo Constituency II), Hon. Bright Iyamu (Orhionmwon South Constituency II), Hon. Richard Edosa (Oredo West Constituency), and Hon. Sunday Ojezele (Esan South East) — stormed the APC Secretariat in Benin on Wednesday, where they were received by the APC State Working Committee, led by the acting state chairman, Jarret Tenebe. With this development, the APC now has 13 members in the House, while the Peoples Democratic Party has 11. The Labour Party lost its only representative to…

An American dog owner was shot by his pet after it jumped on his bed and set off a loaded gun, police said Wednesday. The man, from Memphis, Tennessee, was asleep beside his female partner when he was shot early Monday morning, escaping with a graze to his left thigh that was treated in hospital. The dog — a year-old pit bull named Oreo — “got his paw stuck in the trigger guard and ended up hitting the trigger,” a police incident report said. It did not specify the type of weapon fired, and recorded the incident as “accidental injury.”…

Egypt has requested the right to host a set of group-stage matches for the 2034 World Cup which will be held in Saudi Arabia, the African country’s football federation president said on Wednesday. “Saudi Arabia will stand up and organise a historic edition of the World Cup, and we wish our Saudi brothers every success,” Hany Abo Rida said during the 14th CAF extraordinary general assembly in Cairo. “But at the same time we hope that (FIFA president) Mr. (Gianni) Infantino will grant us, as Africans and Egyptians, the honour of hosting and organising one of the World Cup groups…