Zambia Women Dramatically Join Nigeria In Winning Olympic Spots

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April 10, 2024

English Premier League clubs Arsenal FC and Manchester City failed to win their respective UEFA Champions League quater-final first leg games.

On Tuesday, April 9, 2024, Arsenal FC welcomed Bayern Munich to the Emirates Stadium while defending champions Manchester City were visitors at the Santiago Bernabeu vs Real Madrid.

At the Emirates Stadium, Bukayo Saka fired the Gunners in front after twelve minutes but Bayern Munich responded with two quick goals to take the driving seat at halftime.

Serge Gnabry levelled scores for the Bavarians before Harry Kane converted a spot kick after Leroy Sane was illegally stopped in the area.

Substitute Leandro Trossard scored the equalizer to settle a 2-2 draw and leave the match open and perfectly poised ahead of the return leg in Germany.

At the Santiago Bernabeu, a six goal thriller lived up to it’s prematch billing as the last two winners of the competition battled for a place in the semi-final.

Bernardo Silva started the party but City finished the first half behind 2-1. The second half was also entertaining with Valverde drawing Madrid level 3-3, leaving all to play for in the return leg at the Etihad stadium.

Minister Of Sports Development Salutes Super Falcons Of Nigeria For Qualifying For 2024 Olympic Games In Paris

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April 10, 2024

Super FalconsThe Honourable Minister of Sports Development, Senator John Owan Enoh commended the team for their bold, energetic, and tireless performance that earned them a goalless draw in Pretoria and a 1-0 win over two legs following the win in Abuja last week.

With this result, Nigeria broke the 16-year jinx of absence from the Olympics since 2008, securing qualification against their rivals.

Enoh expressed immense pride in the Super Falcons’ achievement, highlighting their performance deserved nothing short of the ticket to Paris.

“Today, we salute the Super Falcons for their extraordinary display of tenacity and doggedness, breaking barriers and reclaiming Nigeria’s spot on the Olympic stage. Their victory is not just a triumph for Nigerian football, but a testament to the power of dedication and teamwork. As we look forward to Paris 2024, let us rally behind our champions and support them as they strive for greatness.”

He extended his felicitations to the coaching staff, players, and all Nigerians, stating it was a win for the country. He added all hands must be on deck, as they prepare to represent Nigeria with pride and determination at the Paris 2024 Olympics.

Super Falcons Shatter Bayana’s Dream With Unbeaten Streak In South Africa, Soar To Olympics

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April 10, 2024

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The Super Falcons of Nigeria have extended their unbeaten streak against South Africa, clinching their first Olympic spot since 2008 with a 1-0 aggregate victory. The deadlock in South Africa on Tuesday followed a crucial 1-0 win in Nigeria, courtesy of Ajibade’s decisive goal in the first leg.

Nigeria marked a triumphant return to the Women’s Olympic Football Tournament after a 16-year hiatus with a commanding display in Pretoria on Tuesday evening. Their comprehensive performance subdued South Africa, making the home team’s advantage ineffective.

Despite early pressure from the hosts at Loftus Versfeld Stadium, the Super Falcons demonstrated resilience, with goalkeeper Chiamaka Nnadozie making a critical save early on. Nigeria immediately countered, with Chinwendu Ihezuo’s headed attempt secured by South African keeper Kaylin Swart from an Ajibade cross.

Although Ihezuo missed another header in the 27th minute, Nigeria’s relief came when South Africa’s Thembi Kgatlana squandered a clear chance.

The second half saw South Africa’s Linda Motlhalo, Jermaine Seoposenwe, and Nomvula Kgoale take control of midfield, threading passes to the formidable Kgatlana. Yet, Nigeria’s defense, led by Ohale, Chidinma Okeke, Christy Ucheibe, and the vigilant Nnadozie, remained composed.

Nnadozie, the Paris FC standout, boosted her reputation with critical saves in the 70th and 86th minutes, while Ihezuo narrowly missed connecting with an Ajibade cross.

The aggregate victory books the Falcons’ spot in the Women’s Olympic Football Tournament, placing them in the dynamic Group C alongside Brazil, Spain, and Japan this July.

Ajibade, ecstatic at the final whistle, exclaimed, “We did it! We are finally going to the Olympics!” The Tokyo Games will mark Ajibade’s inaugural Olympic appearance.

With the draw in Pretoria Nigeria now takes record to eight unbeaten run against South Africa on their home soil.

Nigeria have won five, drawing three.

In 25 previous encounters (with eight played in South Africa), Nigeria have won 15, with six ending in draws and South Africa winning on four occasions. One of the drawn games was the final match of the 11th Women Africa Cup of Nations, which Nigeria eventually won 4-3 after a penalty shootout in Accra.

South Africa’s four wins have been in Bata, Equatorial Guinea (1-0, 2012 Women AFCON); Cape Coast, Ghana (1-0, 2018 Women AFCON); Lagos, Nigeria (4-2, Aisha Buhari Cup) and; Rabat, Morocco (2-1, 2022 Women AFCON).

FALCONS, BANYANA IN HISTORY

4 Mar 1995: Nigeria 4 South Africa 1 (WCq)

19 Mar 1995: South Africa 1 Nigeria 7 (WCq)

25 Nov 2000: South Africa 0 Nigeria 2 (WAfcon)

18 Dec 2002: Nigeria 5 South Africa 0 (WAfcon)

30 Mar 2003: South Africa 0 Nigeria 3 (Friendly)

11 Oct 2003: Nigeria 1 South Africa 0 (AfGames)

12 Mar 2004: South Africa 2 Nigeria 2 (Oq)

28 Mar 2004: Nigeria 1 South Africa 0 (Oq)

9 July 2007: South Africa 2 Nigeria 2 (AfGames)

18 July 2007: South Africa 0 Nigeria 4 (AfGames)

28 July 2008: Nigeria 5 South Africa 0 (Oq)

12 Aug 2008: South Africa 0 Nigeria 1 (Oq)

22 Nov 2008: South Africa 0 Nigeria 1 (WAfcon)

4 Nov 2010: South Africa I Nigeria 2 (WAfcon)

3 June 2012: South Africa 1 Nigeria 1 (Friendly)

23 June 2012: Nigeria 0 South Africa 0 (Friendly)

7 Nov 2012: South Africa 1 Nigeria 0 (WAfcon)

22 Oct 2014: South Africa 1 Nigeria 2 (WAfcon)

29 Nov 2016: Nigeria 1 South Africa 0 (WAfcon)

18 Nov 2018: South Africa 1 Nigeria 0 (WAfcon)

1 Dec 2018: Nigeria 0 South Africa 0 (WAfcon) – Nigeria triumphed 4-3 penalties

21 Sept 2021: Nigeria 2 South Africa 4 (Aisha Buhari Cup)

4 July 2022: South Africa 2 Nigeria 1 (WAfcon)

5 April 2024: Nigeria 1 South Africa 0 (OQ)

9 April 2024: South Africa 0 Nigeria 0 (OQ)

2024 Paris Olympic Games: Again!!! FIFA Ignores Nigerian Referees

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April 10, 2024

FIFA has once again ignored Nigerian Referees for International competition at all levels, this time with no Nigerian Referee on the list of officials for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games in France.

In a recent announcement, the FIFA Referees Committee announced the appointment of match officials from across the globe for the upcoming Olympic Football Tournaments Paris 2024, with representation from Africa just like other continents.

Among the 89 officials selected, 12 hail from Africa, demonstrating the continent’s expertise and contribution to the international football stage but no officials were considered from Nigeria.

The women’s tournament is scheduled to kick off on July 25, 2024, culminating with the gold medal match at the Parc des Princes in Paris on August 10, 2024.

Similarly, the men’s competition will commence on July 24, 2024, with the final match set for August 9, 2024, also at the Parc des Princes.

These African match officials will undergo rigorous preparation and will continue to receive close monitoring and support from a team of FIFA technical trainers, including referees and video assistant referee (VAR) instructors.

Federal Govt. Unveils Citizens Delivery Tracker App

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April 9, 2024

First Global Patient Portal Launches In Nigeria

The Nigerian government has unveiled its Citizens’ Delivery Tracker CDT app to provide a feedback circle between citizens and the government precisely on the eight priority areas of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Administration.

Unveiling the Tracker in Abuja on Monday, Special Adviser to the President on Policy and Coordination, Hadiza Bala-Usman urged citizens to actively engage with the tracker and offer feedback.

According to Bala-Usman, the feedback will be instrumental in assisting the Central Delivery Coordination Unit to evaluate the performance of Ministries, Departments, and Agencies, ultimately leading to improved service delivery for Nigerians.

She said; ‘For each priority area, specific deliverables and key performance indicators are agreed upon, forming the basis for performance bonds signed by all Ministers and Permanent Secretaries with the President. This performance data will inform quarterly and annual assessments.

“As citizens, you’ll have insight into areas such as Oil and Gas production, Agriculture, Solid Minerals and other sectors of the Nigerian economy, allowing you to provide feedback on Nigeria’s progress and targets.”

She further said during the Go-live event of the CDT app that the tracker would ensure compliance in agricultural produce as well as track the exportation of Nigeria’s cash crops.

The Presidential aide stresses that this would reveal volumes of export and assist the country in the recognition of overlap between trade and agriculture.

“This ensures compliance in Agricultural produce, export on the international food chain, so this speaks to Agriculture, it speaks to the exportation of our cash crops and that is where will able to see the volumes and also recognise the overlap between Agriculture and trade. It will also show how Agriculture has improved and facilitated and ensure that our Agricultural products have been able to reach up to international standards,” Bala-Usman said.

The Special Adviser said that “the unveiling of the CDT is the culmination of a months-long process since the announcement of the Ministerial Assessment plans by President Tinubu at the November 2023 Cabinet Retreat for Ministers, Departments and Agencies.”

Bala-Usman further explained the capacity of the tracker to address challenges in the nation’s transport sector such as Aviation, rail and conducts in the airline space of Nigeria.

“So what is important to us is that after collating the numbers of flights that have been cancelled or delayed flights, has the Ministry of Aviation been able to sanction the airline for continued delay or continued flight cancellations so that data we collate will form the basis with which the airline will be sanctioned for non-performance,” she explained.

Other details of the tracker include gender, issues of disability and ways to engage platforms in integrating people living with disabilities into their plans.

Bala-Usman said; “We could also reflect an aspect of ensuring that government facilities have access for persons with disabilities and if it is reflected it will work, also for transportation, airports, airlines,rail and they also have to ensure that they have access for persons with disabilities.

“So we put that across and we would ensure that we reflect what is needed for everyone to be able to be included as we see to ensure that we track ourselves.”

The eight priority areas of President Tinubu’s administration are: Reform the economy to deliver sustained inclusive growth, strengthen national security for peace and prosperity, boost agriculture to achieve food security, and unlock energy and natural resources for sustainable development.

Others are to enhance infrastructure and transportation as enablers of growth, focus on education, health, and social investment as essential pillars of development, accelerate diversification through industrialisation, digitisation, creative arts, manufacturing & innovation and Improve governance for effective service delivery.

South Korea To Invest $6.94B In Artificial Intelligence

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April 9, 2024

South Korea Miners In Stable Condition After Rescue Operation

South Korean President, Yoon Suk Yeol said on Tuesday his country will invest 9.4 trillion won ($6.94 billion) in artificial intelligence by 2027 as part of efforts to retain a leading global position in cutting-edge semiconductor chips.

The announcement, which also includes a separate 1.4 trillion won fund to foster AI semiconductor firms, comes as South Korea tries to keep abreast with countries like the United States, China and Japan that are also giving massive policy support to strengthen semiconductor supply chains on their turf.

Semiconductors are a key foundation of South Korea’s export-driven economy. In March, chip exports reached their highest in 21 months at $11.7 billion, or nearly a fifth of total exports shipped by Asia’s fourth-largest economy.

“Current competition in semiconductors is an industrial war and an all-out war between nations,” Yoon told a meeting of policymakers and chip industry executives on Tuesday.

By earmarking investments and a fund, South Korea plans to significantly expand research and development in AI chips such as artificial neural processing units (NPUs) and next-generation high-bandwidth memory chips, the government said in a statement.

South Korean authorities will also promote the development of next-generation artificial general intelligence (AGI) and safety technologies that go beyond existing models.

Yoon has set a target for South Korea to become one of the top three countries in AI technology including chips, and take a 10% or more share of the global system semiconductor market by 2030.

“Just as we have dominated the world with memory chips for the past 30 years, we will write a new semiconductor myth with AI chips in the next 30 years,” Yoon said.

NERC Asks DisCos to Meter All Premium Customers

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April 9, 2024

House of Reps Vow to Address Electricity Tariff Hike

The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission has said it should be the priority of power distribution companies to meter all customers on Band A feeders.

This came barely one week after the NERC approved over 200 per cent tariff hike for over 1.8million Band A customers

NERC Vice Chairman, Dr Musiliu Oseni, highlighted the commission’s metering plans at a meeting with Civil Society Organisations and Community-Based Organisations in Abuja Monday.

Band A customers are those who enjoy a minimum of 20 hours of electricity daily, according to the NERC.

With the new tariff announced by NERC, the regulator said the subsidy on electricity had been withdrawn completely from the Band A consumers, which constitute about 15 per cent of the total number of power users across the country.

At the meeting on Monday, Oseni explained that about 15 to 20 per cent of the Band A customers were unmetered.

“On metering, we still have about 15 to 20 per cent of the Band A customers that are not metered and that has to be a priority of the DisCos,” he said.

According to Oseni, the Federal Government and the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry have various initiatives to ensure the metering of the Band A customers.

“There are various initiatives of the presidency and the NESI to ensure metering. The most important thing is that efforts are being made to meter customers starting from those that are being affected now on Band A,” he stated.

Some unmetered customers are reportedly panicking over how they would be asked to pay for April through estimated billing.

Hitherto, there have been issues between power distribution companies and unmetered customers over estimated billing as customers complain of overbilling.

Many Nigerians opined that the over 8 million metering gap should have been closed before the government removed the electricity subsidy to save customers from extortion.

House of Reps Vow to Address Electricity Tariff Hike

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April 9, 2024

Suspend Plans to Remove Subsidy on Electricity- Senate

Deputy Speaker, Benjamin Kalu has said that the House of Representatives will intervene in the recent increase in electricity tariffs by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, NERC upon its resumption on April 23, 2024.

Speaking virtually on the special edition of “Ben Kalu’s Mandate”, a call-in radio programme of FLO FM, Umuahia, Abia State, on Monday, the lawmaker noted that the parliament would find a way to resolve the issue.

Recall that the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission on April 3 an upward review of electricity tariff for consumers in Band A, who enjoy 20 hours of daily power supply by 240 per cent to N225/kilowatt hour from N68/KWh.

The hike generated public outcry, as many believed it would worsen the hardship in the country.

A statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the Deputy Speaker, Mr Levinus Nwabughiogu, quoted Kalu as saying that the parliament would continue to conduct its affairs with the interest of Nigerians in mind.

“It’s a general problem. While I was on my holidays, one of the things I was bothered with was a letter sent to me by the majority leader of the House on the need for us to intervene in a matter involving the University of Ibadan Teaching Hospital power supply. They were disconnected because of this hike and they don’t have the money to pay. We said it’s an essential service. Something should be done about it while we look at other details.

“I can assure you that when we resume, it’s one of the things we are going to look into. We will look at both sides of the coin to know a win-win approach to it because we cannot also suffocate the investors. We cannot allow Nigerians to suffer unduly. So, it is one of the things we will look at by the time we resume and we will find a way to solve it,” the statement quoted Kalu as saying.

On the possibility of a new constitution for Nigerians, Kalu said the onus was on the people to participate fully in the process, while the National Assembly will help amplify their voices.

“Some schools of thought expressed the view that they want a new constitution. They want us to drop the old one and take up a new one.

“Some elders known as The Patriots are also asking for a new constitution. But as you know, we are the people’s parliament. You are our bosses. Whatever the people decide for us to do when we have our public hearings and all these engagements, when we move around because we are going to go to every zone, most local government areas, or senatorial or geopolitical zones to engage, is what we will look at.

“If the people have a general consensus that this is what Nigerians want and the template of what they are asking for; what is wrong with this one that you want to change? How would the new one look like and what do you have in mind? We will be able to factor that in.”

According to the lawmaker, there is more awareness about the plan to amend the constitution.

“I like it when people call to discuss that. It shows there is awareness, which is very key. It’s only when you are aware that you can engage and make the right impact,” he said.

Nigerian Govt. Begins Distribution Of Grains

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April 9, 2024