Author: Festus Adeloye

Brazilian star Neymar is in discussions about leaving his Saudi club Al-Hilal but his financial demands are holding up an agreement, a club source told AFP on Wednesday. The 32-year-old former Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain forward has had an injury-plagued stay in Saudi Arabia, playing just seven times despite a reported salary of around $104 million a year. The source, who spoke on condition that he was not identified, said: “Neymar is discussing his departure with Al-Hilal but his high financial demands remain a major obstacle.” Neymar is under contract with the Saudi Pro League club until June. Reports in…

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has said it has approved the release of the Nigerian Foreign Exchange (FX) Code. The apex bank also announced that the Code would be formally launched next week in Abuja. According to CBN in a statement, the Code serves as a guideline to the banking industry to promote the ethical conduct of authorised dealers in the country’s FX market. CBN said: “The Central Bank of Nigeria has approved the release of the Nigerian Foreign Exchange (FX) Code as a guideline to the banking industry to promote the ethical conduct of authorised dealers in the…

The Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta will on Saturday hold its 3rd convocation during which 3567 undergraduates will be graduating out of which 120 made First Class with I626 finishing Second Class Upper. A further breakdown shows that 1624 graduating students made Second Class Lower, 164 finished with Third Class and another 33 are graduates of Veterinary Medicine. The Vice-Chancellor of the university, Prof Babatunde Kehinde disclosed this on Wednesday during a media briefing held to commemorate the university’s 32nd convocation which holds on Saturday. Kehinde said, “There will also be 30 Postgraduate Diplomas, 274 Masters degrees graduates, and 136…

The operatives of the Nigeria Police Force have arrested a total of 962 suspects across the country for various offences since the commencement of the year. A breakdown of the number showed that 179 suspects were arrested for armed robbery, 100 for kidnapping, 152 suspects for murder/homicide, 34 suspects for unlawful possession of prohibited firearms, 77 rape suspects, and 110 suspected cultists, among others. The Force Public Relations Officer, Muyiwa Adejobi, disclosed this during the parade of 13 of the suspects arrested by the Intelligence Response Team in Abuja on Wednesday. Adejobi said, “Since January 1, 2025, the Nigeria Police…

An officer of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, Kano State Command, sustained injuries during a violent confrontation with two suspects in Bebeji Local Government Area, Kano State. The suspects, identified as Musa Usman, 25, and Buhari Ya’u Bashir, 24, were apprehended during a targeted operation at Rahama Roundabout on January 20, 2025. The NDLEA’s Public Relations Officer in Kano, Sadiq Muhammad Maigatari, disclosed this in a statement issued on Wednesday. According to Maigatari, the operation led to the recovery of various quantities of illicit substances, including 1.1 kilograms of cannabis sativa, eight grams (38 tablets) of diazepam, and 59…

The Central Results Delivery Coordination Unit (CRDCU) has proposed a review of the draft policy on sanctions for airlines to the Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace Development and the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA). The Special Adviser to the President on Policy and Coordination, Bala Usman, who disclosed this on the CRDCU’s Twitter handle, made this recommendation during the Q1–Q3 2024 Performance Assessment Report on implementing presidential priorities and ministerial deliverables. She noted that given the increasing number of flight delays and cancellations and their impact on affected passengers, revisiting the policy was necessary. Usman also recommended revising the current…

China on Wednesday vowed to defend its “national interests” after US President Donald Trump said that a 10 percent duty on Chinese imports could come as soon as February 1. “We have always believed that there are no winners in a trade war or a tariff war,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said, adding China was “firmly committed to safeguarding national interests”.

Donald Trump on Wednesday called a Washington bishop “nasty” and demanded an apology, after she told the US president from the pulpit that he was sowing fear among the country’s immigrants and LGBTQ people. “The so-called Bishop who spoke at the National Prayer Service on Tuesday morning was a Radical Left hard line Trump hater,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. “She brought her church into the World of politics in a very ungracious way. She was nasty in tone, and not compelling or smart,” wrote Trump, after attending a service at the Washington National Cathedral given by Bishop…

The Trade Union Congress (TUC) has rejected the Federal Government’s move to increase Value Added Tax (VAT) from the current 7.5% to 10%, 12.5% and finally to 15% as proposed in one of the tax reform bills. In a statement on Tuesday, TUC President Festus Osifo said “allowing VAT rate to remain at 7.5% is in the best interest of the nation, as increasing it would place an additional financial burden on Nigerians, many of whom are already struggling with economic challenges”. “At a time when inflation, unemployment, and the cost of living are rising, imposing higher taxes would further…

President Bola Tinubu has said his administration has been targeting the financial backbone of terrorist groups in the country. Tinubu added that over 100 terrorist financiers had been convicted in the last two years. Speaking at the opening of the 2025 National Anti-Money Laundering, Counter-Financing of Terrorism and Proliferation (AML/CFT/CPF) Summit in Abuja on Tuesday, Tinubu who did not disclose names of any of the convicted financiers stated that the strategy was meant to prevent the terrorists from terrorizing the citizens. Represented by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, Tinubu said, “We have made progress to…