The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, has directed its branches nationwide to continue issuing and accepting all denominations of the old and new naira notes to and from Deposit Money Banks, DMBs.
This directive follows the Supreme Court’s acceptance of the prayer of the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, AGF, to extend the use of old Naira banknotes till infinity.
Recall, in March the Supreme Court ordered that the old N200, N500 and N1,000 remain legal tender till December 31st, 2023 following the redesign of these denominations.
At the backdrop of the approach of this deadline, many commercial and individual transactions began to witness cash scarcity despite assurances from the CBN that it would continue to accept all denominations of the notes both old and redesigned beyond the deadline.
Subsequently, the AGF had to approach the Supreme Court to obtain a legal backing for this position of the CBN.
In a statement signed by its Acting Director Corporate Communications, Mrs. Sidi Ali Akama, CBN said: “Following the order of the Supreme Court on Wednesday, November 29, 2023, granting the prayer of the Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation to extend the use of old Naira banknotes ad infinitum, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has directed all its branches to continue to issue and accept all denominations of Nigerian banknotes, old and re-designed, to and from deposit money banks (DMBS).
“For the avoidance of doubt, the Supreme Court ordered that the old versions of N200, 500, and N1,000 banknotes shall continue to be legal tender, alongside the re-designed versions.
“Accordingly, in line with Section 20(5) of the CBN Act 2007, all banknotes issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), will continue to remain legal tender, indefinitely.
“Members of the public are enjoined to continue to accept all Naira banknotes (old or re-designed) for their day-to-day transactions and handle these banknotes with the utmost care, to safeguard and protect the lifecycle of the banknotes.
“Furthermore, the general public is encouraged to embrace alternative modes of payment, e-channels, in order to reduce pressure on the use of physical cash.”
He said, “Nigeria will be more secure with the allocation to defence and security.
“As a teacher, I am impressed by the emphasis on basic education. I am sure that education will be better off this time,” he added.
Recall President Bola Tinubu, at his maiden budget presentation before the National Assembly on Wednesday, said the proposed N27.5 trillion 2024 budget will ensure micro-economic stability, poverty reduction, and greater access to social security.
The president highlighted priority areas such as security, local job creation, macro-economic stability, investment environment optimization, human capital development, poverty reduction, and social security.
He fixed recurrent non-debit expenditure at N9.92trn, capital expenditure at N8.73trn, debt service at N8.25trn, revenue at N18.32trn, new borrowings at N7.83trn, and deficit at N9.18trn.
Niger has initiated the operation of its mega solar power plant, mitigating the power shortages brought about by Nigeria’s exit from its power sector.
1. Niger’s mega solar power plant is now operational, mitigating Niger’s 70% power loss.
2. Despite coup-related delays, the solar plant significantly improves power supply in Niger’s capital and other key towns.
3. The French Embassy warns of operational risks.
Following the July coup in Niger that deposed previous President Mohamed Bazoum, a fellow West African country, Nigeria chose to respond by suspending energy exports to the country.
This posed a significant issue in Niger’s power sector, considering that Nigeria supplied 70% of Niger’s electricity prior to the coup.
However, Niger’s response was to focus on the solar project it had initiated a few years back.
A BBC’s report states, “The plant, built by a French consortium, was initiated in 2018 and inaugurated on 5 July this year.
French relations with the Nigerien junta have soured since the coup.
The plant has over 55,000 solar panels and can generate 30 megawatts of electricity.”
Its intended launch was set for August once Niger was able to connect the solar plant to its national electricity grid.
However, the coup brought about a delay in its initiation.
According to Niger’s Energy Minister, Mahaman Moustapha Barke, Niger’s power supply has dramatically improved since the launch of the solar plant, particularly in the country’s capital and some other towns.
The project was also acknowledged by the French Embassy in Mali as it recognized the solar power’s launch but warned of operational risks.
“It could not be finalized under the conditions initially planned,” as seen in the BBC’s report.
Niger’s energy minister indicated on Sunday that the technical staff that stayed behind made the completion of the solar power plant possible.
Niger’s coup consequences
The energy gap brought about by Nigeria’s withdrawal from Niger’s energy supply is hardly the only challenge brought about by international sanctions.
Shortly after the Niger coup, the World Bank disclosed that it had halted disbursements to the country until further notice, with the exception of private-sector partnerships.
Furthermore, it was reported in August that a border closure between Nigeria and Niger had put the estimated annual $226.34 million trade between the two countries at risk of collapse.
The Nigeria Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday that the Old Naira notes will remain legal tender of the country till further notice.
The Attorney-General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi, had asked the apex court to lift its December 31, 2023 deadline.
The Court’s seven-man panel, led by Justice Inyang Okoro, issued the ruling in response to a Federal Government application seeking an extension of the time frame for the circulation of old currency.
The government argued that it had not been able to print a sufficient volume of new notes to facilitate the phase-out of the old currency before the December 31 deadline set by the court in a previous order.
In March 2023, the apex court extended the deadline to phase out old Naira notes to December 31, 2023.
On November 21, the federal government also filed for an extension for the usage of the old naira notes, with the current CBN administration announcing that they were working to get the original order overturned.
In its ruling in Abuja, the federal capital territory, today, the highest court ruled that the 200 naira, 500 naira & 1000 naira notes will remain legal tender and be accepted for transaction until further notice.
Winners Osawe is a regular starter for Deutschland Fussball Bund U-17 side and helped his side to penalty shoot-out against Argentina today.
Nigeria-eligible German midfielder, Winners Mark Osawe, has helped the German U-17 side reach the final of the ongoing U-17 FIFA World Cup
The young RB Leipzig midfielder has started two games in the tournament so far for Christian Wück’s side, stepping in firmly for injured Schalke 04 prospect, Forzan Assan Ouedraogo.
With the final of the tournament scheduled for the second day in the month of December, Osawe turns 17 tomorrow, and whilst still playing in Die Rotten Bullen youth setup, he has a bright future ahead of him.
The ball-winning German midfielder Nigerian roots, and if he continues his development at a steady rate, the questions will come in, as to where his allegiance lies.
Germany began their campaign at the 2023 FIFA U-17 World Cup with an impressive 3-1 win over two-time champions Mexico, with Osawe involved.
Since then, they’ve swept Australia, Colombia, the United States of America, Spain and now, Argentina aside, with Borussia Dortmund’s Paris Brunner’s brace proving pivotal.
Osawe is not the only Nigerian-eligible player in the squad, though, as VFL Wolfsburg’s David Odogu, who has Nigerian roots, has also been rock solid in the centre of the defence for the Germans.
Several players, like Jordan Torunharigha and Felix Uduokhai played in the German youth setup before deciding to play for Nigeria.
Bayer Munich’s Jamal Musiala also has Nigerian roots, and was approached by Nigeria, but the golden boy nominee preferred to play for Germany.
Around Christmas time in Sweden, one of the biggest celebrations is St. Lucia’s Day (or St. Lucy’s Day) on December 13th.
The celebration comes from stories that were told by those who first brought Christianity to Sweden.
St Lucia was a young Christian girl who was martyred, killed for her faith, in 304.
The most common story told about St Lucia is that she would secretly bring food to the persecuted Christians in Rome, who lived in hiding in the catacombs under the city.
She would wear candles on her head so she had both her hands free to carry things. Lucy means ‘light’ so this is a very appropriate name.
December 13th was also the Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year, in the old ‘Julian’ Calendar and a pre-Christian/pagan festival of lights in Sweden was turned into St. Lucia’s Day.
St. Lucia’s Day is now celebrated by a girl dressing in a white dress with a red sash round her waist and a crown of candles on her head. Small children use electric candles but from about 12 years old, real candles are often used!
The crown is made of Lingonberry branches which are evergreen and symbolise new life in winter.
Schools normally have their own St. Lucia’s and some town and villages also choose a girl to play St. Lucia in a procession where carols are sung.
A national Lucia is also chosen. Lucias also visit hospitals and old people’s homes singing a song about St Lucia and handing out ‘Pepparkakor’, ginger snap biscuits.
Small children sometimes like dressing up as Lucia (with the help of their parents!). Also boys might dress up as ‘Stjärngossar’ (star boys) and girls might be ‘tärnor’ (like Lucia but without the candles).
Also, A popular food eaten at St. Lucia’s day are ‘Lussekatts’, St Lucia’s day buns flavored with saffron and dotted with raisins which are eaten for breakfast.
St Lucia’s Day first became widely celebrated in Sweden in the late 1700s.
In Denmark, it is more a of a children’s day and in some part of Italy, children are told that St Lucy brings them presents.
Besides, They leave out a sandwich for her and the donkey that helps carry the gifts!
On the first Sunday of Advent, called “Första Advent” in Swedish, many Swedes will put their Advent candles and/or an Advent Star in windows of their homes.
Traditionally, the Advent candles are four candles set in a ‘box’ which is decorated with greenery.
One candle is lit on each Sunday during Advent. This custom came from the German Advent wreath. Often now an electric ‘stepped’ candle display is used instead of real candles.
Advent Stars were first made in the 1930s from red paper. The stars normally have seven (or sometimes nine) points and are about 30-45cms (12 to 18 inches) across.
They have holes in them and a light is put in them (now a safe electric one) so the light shines out.
The stars are hung in a window to remind people that the wise men followed a star to find Jesus in the Christmas story.
The stars are often now white and might be made of straw, wood or metal as well as paper.
Christmas Eve is also very important in Sweden. This is when the main meal (well really a feast!) is eaten.
This is often a ‘julbord’ which is a buffet, eaten at lunchtime. Cold fish is important on the julbord.
There is often herring (served in many different ways), gravlax (salmon which has been cured in sugar, salt and dill) and smoked salmon.
Other dishes on the julbord might include cold meats including turkey, roast beef and ‘julskinka’ (a Christmas ham); cheeses, liver pate, salads, pickles and different types of bread and butter (or mayonnaise).
There will also be warm savoury foods including meatballs, ‘prinskorv’ (sausages), ‘kåldolmar’ (meat stuffed cabbage rolls), jellied pigs’ feet, lutfisk (a dried cod served with a thick white sauce) and ‘revbenspjäll’ (oven-roasted pork ribs).
Vegetables such as potatoes and red cabbage will also be served. Another potato dish is ‘Janssons Frestelse’ (matchstick potatoes layered with cream, onion and european sprats [a small fish] that is baked to a golden brown).
There’s also ‘dopp i grytan’ which is bread that is dipped in the broth and juices that are left over after boiling the ham.
The dessert of the julbord might be a selection of sweet pastries, some more pepparkakor biscuits and some home made sweets!
Wow, I think I like the sound of a Jolbord! To wash all that food down you can have some ‘glogg’ which is sweet mulled wine and some coffee to finish off the meal!
Another popular food at Christmas in Sweden is ‘risgrynsgröt’ (rice porridge that’s eaten with ‘hallonsylt’ [raspberry jam] or sprinkled with some cinnamon).
It’s often eaten during the evening after people have exchanged their presents.
If there is any risgrynsgröt left over, when it’s cold it can be mixed with whipped cream and eaten with a warm fruit sauce.
This is called ‘Ris a la malta’ and sounds rather yummy!
Presents are normally exchanged on Christmas Eve. People often go to Church early on Christmas morning.
Another popular and important thing that many Swedes do on Christmas Eve afternoon is to watch old Disney cartoons!
Every year, since 1959, at 3.00pm on Christmas Eve, the TV station TV1 shows the 1958 Disney special “From All of Us to All of You”.
In Sweden it’s known as “Kalle Anka och hans vänner önskar God Jul” meaning “Donald Duck and his friends wish you a Merry Christmas.”
About 40 to 50% of the Swedish population stop to watch it! It’s also shown on Christmas Eve afternoon in Denmark, Norway and Finland, but is most popular in Sweden.
The end of Christmas in Sweden is on January 13th (twenty days after Christmas) which is called ‘Tjugondag Knut’ (Twentieth Day Knut) or ‘Tjugondag jul’ (Twentieth Day Yule) and is named after a Danish prince called Canute Lavard.
On Tjugondag Knut it’s traditional that the Christmas Tree is taken down and left over cookies and sweets are eaten!
In Swedish Happy/Merry Christmas is ‘God Jul’. In North-Sami, spoken in northern parts of Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia, it’s ‘Buorit Juovllat’.
CAF has announced the shortlists for the women’s categories for the CAF Awards 2023.
For the Player of the Year, ten players remain in the race for the prestigious individual honour. Whereas, the other categories namely Interclub Player of the Year, Goalkeeper of the Year, Young Player of the Year, Coach of the Year, National Team of the Year and Club of the Year, have five nominees each.
The ultimate winner of each category will be decided after votes from a voting panel consisting of CAF Technical Committee, media professionals from Member Associations, Head Coaches & Captains of Member Associations and clubs involved in the group stages of the Interclub competitions.
The Awards Gala will take place on Monday, 11 December 2023, at the Palais des Congrès, Movenpick, Marrakech, Morocco.
Full List of Nominees (in alphabetic order by Member Association):
Anthony Joshua could revisit the Rumble in the Jungle as part of an “iconic” bout around the 50th anniversary of the legendary fight, says Eddie Hearn.
Promoter Hearn says talks have taken place over the heavyweight contender fighting in Africa, and that government backing for an event is available.
Joshua, 34, has Nigerian ancestry but has never fought on the continent.
“It’s something that would be iconic for the sport,” Hearn says of the proposals.
“When we’re visiting these countries, there’s government funding to stage these events.
“Sometimes that isn’t forthcoming in all areas but there have been discussions and I think it will happen in time.”
Muhammad Ali and George Foreman contested the heavyweight world championship in Zaire – now Democratic Republic of Congo – in October 1974 in one of the greatest fights of all time.
Both men were champions during the long careers that made them legends, with Ali knocking out Foreman the eight round to win the WBA, WBC and Ring titles.
Joshua held the WBA belt for a combined total of almost four years and has been IBF, WBO and IBO champion, although he is currently aiming to win back the titles he failed to regain from Ukrainian Oleksandr Usyk in Saudi Arabia in August 2022.
The 2012 Olympic gold medallist, who grew up in London after his parents emigrated from Nigeria before he was born, remains one of the biggest ticket-sellers in the sport and has called himself “proudly Nigerian and proudly British”, sporting a tattoo of Africa with Nigeria outlined on his right shoulder.
“With that anniversary approaching, we’ve often talked about a big Anthony Joshua fight – even revisiting the famous scenes in Zaire of the Rumble in the Jungle,” said Hearn.
“We’ve had a couple of approaches. Obviously, Anthony Joshua – with his Nigerian descent – is always keen to visit and stage a major event there.
“Visually, it would be incredible and something Anthony would love to tick off the box before the end of his career.”
Despite its lasting resonance, the Rumble in the Jungle remains the last time a fight of such scale took place in Africa.
Some of African Football Club’s senior executives and Club Chairpersons will travel to Cairo, Egypt to attend the launch of the African Club Association (“ACA”) on Thursday, 30 November 2023.
The launch will be attended by a number of delegations including the CAF President, Dr Patrice Motsepe at Marriot Mena House, Cairo starting at 11h00.
The ACA meeting will be followed by a press conference to be addressed by CAF President together with ACA members to be streamed live on CAF platforms.
The African Club Association aims to bring together stakeholders from across the African football landscape, fostering collaboration, innovation, and excellence within the continent’s club football scene.
The kick-off meeting between African Clubs and CAF President Dr Motsepe was held on 05 October 2023. Dr Motsepe briefed the African Club Chairmen about the formation of the African Club Association whose objectives includes to:
protect and promote the interest of African Football Clubs
ensure that African Football Clubs are commercially viable, globally competitive and profitable
ensure that Referees, Match Commissioners and VAR operators are respected, credible, independent and world-class
build partnerships with sponsors, the private sector and Governments to build stadiums that comply with CAF and FIFA standards and other football infrastructure and facilities in each of the 54 CAF Member Associations
develop African youth talent, academies for Boys and Girls and improve the quality of African Club football to be world class.
American Coach, Randy Waldrum and the Super Falcons of Nigeria have been named among the final shortlist for 2023 CAF Coach of the year and national team awards respectively.
Waldrum who was Head Coach of the Super Falcons in the year under review makes the last-five for the CAF Women’s coach of the year, while the Nigerian ladies earn recognition for their outstanding performance at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
In a tweet on the CAF official X handle, the top-five nominees for women’s national team and coach of the year nominees were announced by the African football governing body on Monday November 27.
Nigeria is joined by South Africa, Morocco, Zambia and Senegal on the shortlist for women’s national team of the year award.
For the coach of the year, Randy Waldrum will contend with current holder, Desiree Ellis, Jerry Tshabalala, Reynald Pedros, and Mehdiel Qaichouri.
The winners will be announced at the award ceremony which will take place in December.
Meanwhile, Randy Waldrum has not returned to the Super Falcons since returning to America after the women’s world cup.
In his place, Coach Justin Madugu has led the Nigerian ladies for 2024 Olympic and WAFCON qualification games.
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