The independent national electoral commission (INEC) says voters assigned to new polling units will receive text messages to know their new polling units before the February 25 and march 11, 2023 general elections.
The electoral commission said voters can locate and confirm their polling units before the general elections by sending regular texts or WhatsApp messages to a dedicated telephone number which will be uploaded on INEC social media platforms.
Mahmood Yakubu, the chairman of INEC, announced this on Monday during a gathering of political parties in the INEC Conference Room in Abuja.
240 polling places in 28 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) will not hold elections because there are no registered voters, according to Yakubu, who also noted that there are currently 176,606 polling places nationwide.
The INEC chair noted, “It is apparent that some voters could not readily identify their polling units from the comments we obtained from our officials and accredited observers during the recent nationwide mock accreditation using the Bimodal Voter Registration Systems (BVAS).”
On election day, this should not take place. As a result, the Commission is urging voters to use a specific website to validate the whereabouts of their voting places.
Additionally, the Commission will send SMS messages to all voters who have been assigned to new polling places identifying their polling places.
Specifically for individuals who might not have submitted their telephone numbers during voter registration or those whose numbers may have changed, he said that the INEC has produced the registry of such voters and that the commission’s state offices will make it widely known.
The Champions League knockout stage kicks off this week with a blockbuster showdown between Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich topping the bill, doubts surrounding all of the English contenders and talk of a breakaway Super League resurfacing again.
Three and a half months have passed since the group stage ended, an unprecedented pause in the Champions League season caused by the break for the World Cup.
Since the tournament in Qatar there has been another transfer window of record spending by Premier League clubs, whose £815 million ($1 billion) outlay on new players in January represented 79 percent of the total across Europe’s biggest five leagues according to analysts Deloitte.
That provides the backdrop to the return of the Champions League, with the financial gulf between the Premier League and the continent greater than ever and the promoters of the breakaway Super League project revealing their new vision of how the competition might look.
Bernd Reichart, the chief executive of the A22 group promoting the Super League, this week told German newspaper Die Welt that “the foundations of European football are in danger of collapsing. It’s time for a change.”
He presented the idea of a Super League with 80 teams, all places based on sporting merit and no permanent members.
– Pressure on Man City, Chelsea – But there is not yet anything concrete in place, and for now clubs from outside England will be aiming to stop the cash-rich Premier League teams from dominating the latter stages of the Champions League.
There are nevertheless doubts surrounding all the English sides taking part in the last 16, even Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City.
The 2021 runners-up are desperate to get their hands on the trophy for the first time but are still reeling after being charged with over 100 breaches of financial rules by the Premier League, leaving them at risk of serious punishment including the possibility of relegation.
The Abu Dhabi-backed club will still be favourites to overcome RB Leipzig, but they have appeared flawed domestically of late and perhaps the uncertainty surrounding the future will leave them feeling greater pressure to perform in Europe this season.
Tottenham Hotspur, runners-up in 2019, have been up and down under Antonio Conte but will be fancied against an AC Milan side who have collapsed, going seven games without a win before this weekend –- hardly the best preparation for their first Champions League knockout tie in nine years.
Chelsea spent more than a third of all the money lavished by the Premier League in January. That increases expectations at Stamford Bridge, but only three of their January recruits can feature in their European squad.
The 2021 Champions League winners have won just once in eight games and now face a Borussia Dortmund side who have won six on the bounce, and have Sebastien Haller fit again after treatment for testicular cancer.
Then there is Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool, languishing in mid-table at home ahead of their rerun of last season’s final against reigning champions Real Madrid, whose coach Carlo Ancelotti is confident English clubs are not about to have things all their own way.
– Napoli eyeing double – “I don’t think this will end the competitiveness of European competitions,” Ancelotti said when asked about the Premier League’s spending.
Then again, with key players like Karim Benzema and Luka Modric in the twilight of their careers, Real do not look like the force they were last season, although which of Europe’s superpowers is in peak form?
Not PSG, who have lost four times already in 2023 and are without the injured Kylian Mbappe for the first leg against Bundesliga leaders Bayern.
Elsewhere it would be a stretch to suggest that Inter Milan, who face Porto, look like genuine contenders, while Benfica should beat Club Brugge but have lost their star player, Enzo Fernandez, to Chelsea since the group stage.
Could there be a new name on the trophy?
Napoli are running away with the Serie A title and Luciano Spalletti’s team, who play Eintracht Frankfurt in the last 16, are eyeing what would be an utterly remarkable double.
“You can either stick or twist,” Spalletti said recently.
“We have no doubts on that, we have made our decision to gamble and go for the double.”
Anthony Joshua’s new trainer, Derrick James, has advised that the British-Nigerian does not need more aggression ahead of his comeback fight against Jermaine Franklin at the 02 Arena in London.
The former two-time unified heavyweight champion is keen to get his career back on track by beating the American on April 1 after suffering consecutive defeats to champion Oleksandr Usyk and for that he has enlisted the help of world-renowned trainer, James.
While many have charged him to be more aggressive in the ring, James though, is confused as to why Joshua’s critics have continued to push him to stand and bang. In his view, being a bull doesn’t always lead to stellar results.
“He just has to be the best version of himself,” James told Seconds Out.
“And that’s not necessarily a dog because dogs are not always intelligent. A dog would fight a bear, he’s going to lose the fight but he’s going to fight a bear.”
Currently, James’ stable features some of the boxing world’s most recognisable stars in unified welterweight champion Errol Spence Jr. and undisputed junior middleweight kingpin, Jermell Charlo.
Although both are aggressive by nature, James has helped mould them over the years. The results, of course, have been spectacular. In the case of Joshua, James is hoping to do much of the same. While he fully acknowledges that Joshua has plenty of God-given talent, James believes that Joshua’s brawn, coupled with his brains could lead to another victorious run.
“You have to be intelligent, you have to be smart and choose the right tactics and choose the right whatever to be successful.”
If he’s able to get back in the win column against Franklin, Joshua can look forward to potential fights with Tyson Fury, Deontay Wilder or even former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou.
Money man Elon Musk is reconsidering Manchester United takeover with deadline for bidding getting closer.
Elon Musk reportedly loves money a lot and also loves Manchester United and is one of a select few who could afford to buy them.
According to sources, the tech-billionaire is believed to be monitoring the situation closely, and wondering if there is an opportunity at Old Trafford that he should not miss.
With Friday’s deadline for bids rapidly approaching, there are speculations that the man Forbes rank as the second-richest in the world is about to make his move for the football club they have crowned the biggest?
While associates of the Twitter, Tesla and SpaceX supremo will not comment on any possible interest, sources close to the deal are aware of his attention.
Dozens, it is understood, have expressed an interest and signed confidentiality agreements allowing them to gain access to the ‘data room’.
Among those, are a number of parties from Saudi Arabia, independent of those who own Newcastle United. Should they decide to launch a bid they may well need a dynamic figurehead to front it.
Few would carry the weight of Musk – who already sent his own platform into meltdown when he tweeted that he was going to buy United, before later saying that it was a joke.
At the last count, his fortune was estimated at £157billion. His pockets are deep enough and he certainly has the clout. On Twitter, United boast 34.9m followers. Musk has 128.9m.
Paris Saint-Germain striker Kylian Mbappe has made a faster-than-expected return to training ahead of the round of 16 Champions League first-leg home tie with Bayern Munich on Tuesday.
After Mbappe suffered a thigh injury against Montpellier on February 1, the club said he would be out for three weeks.
On Saturday, coach Christophe Galtier said he did not think Mbappe would play on Tuesday.
“I don’t think so. He follows his rehabilitation protocol. He was a victim of a muscle injury,” Galtier said. “We will take zero, zero, zero risk with Kylian.”
But Mbappe trained on Sunday and on Monday was seen in the part of training which is open to the media, participating in an exercise with Lionel Messi, Neymar, Sergio Ramos, goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, Marco Verratti, Achraf Hakimi and Marquinhos.
Qatari-owned PSG are seeking to stay on course to win the Champions League for the first time in their history.
Napoli fans are so much in love with Victor Osimhen that they are not only queuing to buy his shirt but also replicas of his protective mask outside the Stadio Maradona, reports La Gazzetta dello Sport.
The Nigeria international is Serie A’s leading scorer with 17 goals in 18 matches, including eight in his last six appearances.
He bagged one in Sunday’s 3-0 win against Cremonese and Gazzetta reports the Partenopei supporters even queued to buy replicas of the protective mask he’s been wearing for more than a year following a cheekbone injury suffered against Inter in November 2021.
Replicas of Osimhen’s mask are on sale in stalls outside the stadium and hundreds of fans were seen queueing to buy the gadget on Sunday, before their game with Cremonese.
The pink describes Osimhen as the ‘king of Naples’ with the Partenopei dreaming of winning their first title in over 30 years.
They top Serie A with 59 points after 22 games, losing just one league game — against second-place Inter milan — as the chances of a first league triumph after three decades increasingly look brighter.
Meanwhile, the 24-year-old continues to equal and break records in Italy as he further enjoys his blistering performance.
On Sunday, Osimhen scored Napoli’s second goal in their 3-0 win over struggling Cremonese and in doing so, he became just the club’s second player in their history to score in six consecutive matches after Argentine Gonzalo Higuain, who did the same during his time at Napoli in the 2015/16 season.
After failing to score in Napoli’s 1-0 defeat to Inter Milan in January, the Super Eagles striker had since found the back of the net against Sampdoria, Juventus, Salernitana, AS Roma, Spezia Calcio and Cremonese, scoring eight goals in the process.
Amidst the cash crisis bedeviling the country and the expectations of Nigerians that President Muhammadu Buhari would resolve the matter in seven days as promised, the governor of the central bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, was alleged to have said that the apex bank does not have the capacity to print adequate new Naira notes.
Emefiele made the disclosure when he briefed the national council of state emergency meeting.
Emefiele allegedly said, that the Nigerian security printing and minting plc currently suffer capacity constraints, resulting in the failure to print adequate new notes to replace the old N200, N500, and N1,000 notes but a statement which appeared to have come from the central bank has denied the claims, saying that the central bank was working on getting the various denominations printed.
Meanwhile, the source added that Mr. Buhari was non-committal at the meeting and barely spoke. He left the meeting as the time for the Muslim’s Jummah prayer drew close and his deputy, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, took over.
Osinbajo said the president would take a decision.
Meanwhile, seven days after President Muhammadu Buhari promised to address the cash crisis that hit the country following the naira redesign and old notes swap policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the new and old naira notes have remained elusive.
The Kansas City Chiefs became NFL champions for the second time in four years at the Super Bowl 57 after fighting back to claim a thrilling 38-35 win over the Philadelphia Eagles.
Seen as slight underdogs for Super Bowl 57, the Chiefs trailed for much of the game in Phoenix and were 27-21 down heading into the final quarter.
But despite limping after aggravating an ankle injury, quarterback Patrick Mahomes and veteran coach Andy Reid orchestrated a route back in front of 67,827 fans in the State Farm Stadium.
Mahomes, who was named the season’s Most Valuable Player for a second time last week, made touchdown passes to Kadarius Toney and Skyy Moore to put Kansas City in front for the first time.
The Eagles levelled after a record-breaking third rushing touchdown by Jalen Hurts, followed by a two-point conversion by the third-year quarterback.
But a heroic 26-yard run by Mahomes made the ground for Harrison Butker to kick a game-winning field goal from 27 yards with eight seconds remaining.
Mahomes’ performance saw the 27-year-old become the first player since 1999 to win the season MVP, the Super Bowl and the Super Bowl MVP in the same season.
He has led the Chiefs to at least the AFC Championship game in all five seasons as a starter and many argued that, for the Reid-Mahomes era to be considered a dynasty, they had to win another Super Bowl.
Patrick Mahomes
“I am not going to say a dynasty yet, we are not done,” said Mahomes.
“I told you nothing was going to keep me off the field. I want to thank my team-mates – we challenged each other and it took everybody.”
On Reid, who coached Philly for 14 years before taking over at Kansas City in 2013, Mahomes added: “He’s one of the greatest coaches of all time. I think everybody knew that, but these last two Super Bowls kind of cemented that.
“To have someone that is such a great person who gets the best out of the players, you wanted to win those Super Bowls for him. It’s great that we did that.”
Reid, 64, said of Mahomes: “He wants to be the greatest player ever and that’s the way he goes about his business. And he does it humbly, there’s no bragging.
“The great quarterbacks make everybody around him better, including the head coach. So he’s done a heck of a job.”
It was both a historic and rare Super Bowl as the NFL’s showcase event came to Arizona’s state capital for a fourth time.
It was the first Super Bowl to feature two black quarterbacks and the first to feature brothers on opposing teams, namely Travis Kelce and his older brother Jason, the Eagles centre.
And it was rare because it featured the season’s best two teams and the best two players – Mahomes and Hurts, who traded blows in an epic.
It was the first time that the top seed in each Conference has reached the Super Bowl since 2018 – when the Eagles beat the New England Patriots 41-33 for their only previous Super Bowl win.
This is the highest-scoring Super Bowl since then but probably edged it for drama, with each team showing why they were so dominant during the regular season, both finishing with a 14-3 record.
Now Super Bowl 57 will be remembered for being much more than the ‘Kelce Bowl’, it is the game where the Chiefs delivered on their promise.
“It solidifies your greatness,” said Travis Kelce. “You didn’t get lucky once, it wasn’t beginners’ luck
“You can call it a dynasty – you can call it whatever you want. All I know is we’re coming back next year and our heart and mindset is on trying to get another.
“We were uncharacteristic in the beginning [of the game] but everyone had that look in their eye that they would leave it all out there on the field and that is what we did.”
Celebratory Mood for Kansas City Chiefs
BEST SUPER BOWL STATISTICS
This is the first Super Bowl in which both teams scored at least 35 points
Hurts became the first quarterback to rush for three touchdowns in a Super Bowl
Hurts also set a Super Bowl record for rushing yards by a QB – 70
Facing the team with the second most sacks in a single season in NFL history, the Chiefs’ offensive line didn’t allow Mahomes to be sacked once
Mahomes became the 13th quarterback to win multiple Super Bowls
Mahomes is the first player from the top four professional sports in the US to win multiple MVPs and multiple championship MVPs within 2000 days of his debut (1869)
Reid became the 15th coach to win multiple Super Bowls
Reid is the first head coach/manager in the top four professional sports in the US to win multiple championships after winning none over his first 20 seasons
The Federal Government on Monday directed all Polytechnics in the country to shut down until after the forthcoming general elections.
The development came a week after issuing a similar directive for the closure of all Universities in the country.
The directive was contained in a circular issued by the Federal Ministry of Education, directing the Executive Secretary, National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), Prof. Idris Bugaje to communicate to Rectors and Provosts of polytechnics.
The letter, which was signed by Mr I. O Folorunsho, for the Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu and dated Feb. 10, was obtained by newsmen in Abuja on Monday.
” In view of concerns expressed on the security of staff, students and properties of our respective Institutions, the Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, has, following extensive consultations with the relevant security agencies, directed that all Polytechnics be shut down.
” And academic activities will be suspended between Wednesday, Feb.22 and Tues. March 14, 2023,” the letter reads.
The minister had urged the NBTE boss to communicate the above to all the institutions under his regulatory functions.
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