As the days to the kickoff match for the 2023 TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations draw closer, there are quite some fascinating facts to know about the continent’s highly revered football tournament.

The tournament which will start on January 13, 2024, with the opening match between the host country, Cote d’Ivoire, and Group A opponent, Guinea-Bissau, will end on February 11, 2024.

In this piece, PUNCH Online highlights some facts about the AFCON as shared by CAFOnline.com:

* The first AFCON tournament took place in Sudan in 1957. Only three countries, hosts Sudan, Egypt, and Ethiopia, took part in that first tournament. There was no qualifying competition.

* South Africa was also invited to the first Africa Cup of Nations tournament in 1957 but their invitation was later withdrawn as a result of the country’s apartheid laws.

* Egypt defeated hosts Sudan in the first game played at the AFCON winning 2-1 on 10th January 1957.

* Raafat Attia scored the first goal at an AFCON tournament when he opened the scoring for Egypt in their 2-1 semi-final win over hosts Sudan in 1957.

* Egypt defeated Ethiopia 4-0 in the final to win the first AFCON tournament in 1957.

* Egypt won the first two AFCON tournaments in 1957 and 1959 while they were runners-up in 1962, losing to hosts Ethiopia in the final.

* Cote d’Ivoire is hosting the Africa Cup of Nations for a second time with the first hosted in 1984.

* When Cote d’Ivoire hosted the AFCON in 1984, eight nations participated. Five of those countries – Algeria, Cameroon, Egypt, Ghana, and Nigeria will be joining the hosts again. Missing out are Malawi and Togo.

* Egypt has won the most AFCON Titles (seven), followed by Cameroon (five), Ghana (four), Nigeria (three), and the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Ivory Coast (two each).

* Egypt and Ghana have both reached nine AFCON finals while Egypt has won seven, Ghana has four wins and Cameroon has played in seven finals winning five.

* Cote d’Ivoire has appeared in four AFCON finals in 1992, 2006, 2012, and 2015, and in 480 minutes of play in the AFCON finals, they have failed to produce a single goal. They won on penalties after extra time in 1992 and 2015 and lost on penalties after extra time in 2006 and 2012 with all four games ending 0-0.

* Cameroonian striker, Samuel Eto’o, is the leading overall Cup of Nations scorer, notching 18 goals in six tournaments between 2000 and 2010.

* Egypt goalkeeper, Essam el Hadary, became the oldest player at 44 years and 21 days to feature in the tournament when he faced Cameroon in the 2017 final in Libreville as Egypt lost.

* The only time the opening game of the AFCON ended 0-0 was when South Africa played out a 0-0 draw against Cape Verde in 2013.

* The last host nation to reach the AFCON finals was Egypt who won the title on home soil in 2006.

* Egypt has reached the AFCON final in five of the last six tournaments that the country participated in, winning in 2006, 2008, and 2010 while they were runners-up in 2017 and the 2021 edition. They only failed to do so in 2019 as hosts.

* Four players – Cameroon’s Samuel Eto’o, Ghanaian duo Asamoah Gyan, as well as Andre Ayew, and Zambia’s Kalusha Bwalya, have scored in six AFCON tournaments. No player has scored in more editions of the competition than them.

* The 2023 AFCON will be the 34th edition of the tournament since the first one held in 1957.

* The AFCON has been expanded from a 16-team tournament which it has been since 1996 to a 24-team event in 2019.

* This is the third edition to have 24 teams participating.

* 16 players have scored 17 hat-tricks at the Africa Cup of Nations but none since Soufiane Alloudi scored three goals in Morocco’s 5-1 triumph over Namibia in the 2008 group stages.

* Egypt has had five different players scoring six AFCON hat-tricks. No country has managed as many players to have scored a hat-trick at the tournament.

* The first hat-trick at the AFCON was scored by Ad-Diba who scored all four of Egypt’s goals in their 4-0 triumph in the 1957 final victory over Ethiopia.

* Egypt’s Hassan El-Shazly is the only player to have scored multiple hat-tricks at the Africa Cup of Nations, doing so in 1963 and 1970.

* Egypt is the only team to have two players score a hat-trick in the same game. Hassan El-Shazly and Mohammed Hussein netted all their goals in a 6-3 win over Nigeria in a 1963 group-stage encounter. 

* Egypt’s Ahmed Hassan and Cameroon’s Rigobert Song hold the record for the most number of AFCON participations with each player having featured in eight final tournaments in 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, and 2010 – a record that could be tied by Ghana’s Andre Ayew at the next edition.

* South Africa finished 1st (1996), 2nd (1998) and 3rd (2000) in the first three AFCON tournaments that they participated in.

* Ghana’s Charles Gyamfi (1963–1965, 1982) and Egypt’s Hassan Shehata (Egypt 2006–2008-2010) are the only coaches to have won the title three times. Shehata is the only coach to have won the title in three successive tournaments.

* Two persons – Egypt’s Mahmoud El-Gohary (1959 as player, 1998 as coach) and Stephen Keshi of Nigeria (1994 as player, 2013 as coach) have won the AFCON as a player and coach.

* French man Herve Renard is the only coach to have won the AFCON with two different countries; Zambia in 2012 and Cote d’Ivoire in 2015.

* Senegal coach Aliou Cisse holds the unwanted record of losing in the final as both a player (2002) and coach (2019). He also now has won the tournament as a coach lifting the title with Senegal at the 2021 edition.

* In 2004, Frenchman Roger Lemmere became the first coach to win the AFCON and the UEFA European Championship when he led Tunisia to the title. In 2000, he led France to the European Championships.

* 44 different African nations have participated in the AFCON, with Comoros and Gambia being the debutants at the last edition in Cameroon.

* Egypt (1957), Ghana (1963), and South Africa (1996) are the only teams to have won the tournament in their debut appearances.

* Starting in 2008, Ghana has reached the AFCON semi-finals in six of the last eight tournaments and has been beaten finalists twice in that time, losing to Egypt in 2010 and Cote d’Ivoire in 2017.

* Tunisia has qualified for their 16th successive AFCON tournament, a run started in 1994. No team has ever managed 16 successive qualifications.

* Egypt has played more games at the AFCON than any other team (107), they have won more matches than any other team (60). Ghana has played 102 games and won 54. Cote d’Ivoire and Nigeria will join the centenary club as they have currently played 99 and 97 games respectively at the finals.

* Ndaye Mulamba scored nine goals for DR Congo at the 1974 AFCON. No player has managed more in a single tournament.

* The name of the continental trophy has changed three times in history. The first trophy was the Abdelaziz Abdallah Salem Trophy, followed by the African Unity trophy and then the Africa Cup of Nations.

* Twelve former African champions will be making their way to Cote d’Ivoire for the 2023 edition of the Africa Cup of Nations.

* The top 15 ranked African teams have all qualified for the 2023 edition of the Africa Cup of Nations.

* Five Southern African teams have qualified for the 2023 edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the most the COSAFA region has had at a single final.

* Each winner of the last 25 editions of the tournament from 1974 has qualified for the current edition of the finals. The last winner to miss out is the 1972 champions Congo.

* Every finalist from the 1984 edition has reached the 2023 edition of the Africa Cup of Nations. The last team to reach the final who have not qualified are 1982 runners-up Libya.

[Punch]

President Bola Tinubu is currently meeting with Governor Simi Fubara of Rivers State at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

The governor arrived at the Presidential Villa about 5:35 p.m. and proceeded straight to the president’s office.

Unlike the last time he came to the State House with a delegation of his loyalists during the peace meeting with his estranged political godfather and Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Nyesom Wike, and the President, the governor came alone today.

Although the agenda of his visit was not made public at the time of filing this report, it may not be unconnected with the political crisis between the governor and the FCT Minister over the control of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, structure in Rivers State.

Vanguard News

The 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party , Mr Peter Obi says President Bola Tinubu must ensure that those culpable in the alleged scandal involving the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Dr Betta Edu are brought to book.

Obi said in a write-up in his X-handle platform on Thursday that the government should go beyond the suspension of the minister, which he described as a welcomed development, and carry out a comprehensive investigation into the matter.

According to him, the government must give the problem of public sector corruption the severe urgency it deserves.

Obi expressed disappointment that a ministry created in good faith to attend to the plight of the suffering masses was being turned into a conduit pipe to steal from the poor as seen in the current and previous ministers of the ministry.

“I like to add my voice with most Nigerians concerned about accountability in government and judicious use of public funds, to welcome the suspension of Edu, and subsequent directives for her investigation.

“The investigation must be comprehensive so that all those culpable are brought to book,” Obi, a former two-term Anambra governor said.

Cautioning against taking the issue lightly, Obi added that the suspension of the minister should not be a window-dressing action but should be a peg to get at all those who are deserving of blame, punished just like the minister.

“By a sad coincidence, the alleged fraudulent diversion of N585 million of public money by Edu broke almost at the same moment that the minister who held the same portfolio in the last administration is being investigated for a whopping N37 billion misappropriation.

“The ministry may have been created by the system as a conduit pipe to siphon public funds while using the poor as a face.

“Equally worrisome and disgusting is the fact that the missing funds are meant for poverty alleviation in a time of severe suffering among the people.

“Unfortunately, the ruling elites can shamelessly convert, divert, or misappropriate such huge sums meant for the poor and cannot be trusted to address the severe poverty ravaging the people.

“It is not only immoral but also insensitive for those entrusted with funds for public welfare to steal from the poor,” the Labour Party leader said.

Obi called on the Tinubu administration to use these cases to initiate a thorough system-wide and systematic investigation of all reported cases of fraud and corruption among high government officials in the country.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that President Tinubu on Monday, suspended Edu, following controversies about financial transactions she authorised in her ministry.

The suspension according to a statement by presidential spokesperson Ajuri Ngelale was with immediate effect.

The scandal included the approval of payment of hundreds of millions of naira into private accounts of civil servants.

Edu had come under criticism from Nigerians for ordering the transfer of N585.2 million into the private bank account of a civil servant, who is the accountant in charge of grants for Vulnerable Nigerians.

The minister had issued a memo to the Accountant General of the Federation in December 2023, ordering the said amount to be paid into the civil servant’s private bank account.(NAN)

The President-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, has asked President Bola Tinubu to focus on creating a true federal constitution and restructuring of Nigeria.

Iwuanyanwu made this appeal in an interview with Arise Television on Wednesday.

According to him, the peace committee he set up by Ndigbo was intended to clear up the misunderstandings and curb the alleged unfair treatments that other Nigerian tribes show towards Igbo people.

On the need for a federal constitution, Iwuanyanwu said, “That particular government before independence, they had a constitution, a true federal constitution. A constitution that could actually apply and bring, without a lot of strain, to a people who have diverse background like Nigeria. We had a true federal constitution in 1960,1963, and that worked for us.

“Later on, they changed to military constitution which is not right. Now, that is why we in Igbo land, we are saying, please, let us have a true federal constitution. What we are operating today is a unitary government. It doesn’t work with a people who have diverse backgrounds.

“I believe that the government of Bola Ahmed Tinubu should take steps to see if we can actualise this restructuring of Nigeria. Without a proper restructuring, Nigeria will continue to have problem, there is no way this country can survive. Today, everybody is talking about presidency. In a restructured Nigeria, the presidency will not attract so much attention as it does today,” he said.

Speaking on alleged animosity displayed towards Igbos, Iwuanyanwu said since the recent Presidential elections, there had been unfair treatments towards Igbos.

He said, “Suddenly after the elections, Igbo buildings were being demolished in various places with excuses. I have investigated the demolitions in Lagos with example, and it is very clear to me that some of them didn’t follow the process of law of any civilised society.”

On the peace committee that has been set up to clear the prejudice between the Ndigbo and the rest of Nigerians, he said, “We’re going to produce our own story about the events in Nigeria from 1966. We’re going to produce a book which we are going to keep in Nigeria for posterity, to know the position of Igbos.

“Because today, a young Northerner, for example, will think Igbos hate Northerners by killing two great leaders from the North, it’s not true. But when we put our story, this community will put up a story, it will be clear position is.”

According to Iwuanyanwu, the committee is also set to contact the heads of other ethnic groups to find out their misgivings and fallouts with Ndigbo, so that peace can be brokered between the Igbos and the ethnic groups in Nigeria if there were any problems.

Eleven newly appointed Supreme Court justices will be sworn in next week, completing the full quota of 21 justices provided for in the Constitution.

The new apex court judges, whose appointment was initiated by President Bola Tinubu and confirmed by the Senate in December 2023, hail from diverse geopolitical zones.

They Include:

North Central:

– Hon. Justice Jummai Hannatu Sankey, OFR
– Hon. Justice Stephen Jonah Adah
– Hon. Justice Mohammed Baba Idris

North East:

– Hon. Justice Haruna Simon Tsammani

North West:

– Hon. Justice Jamilu Yammama Tukur
– Hon. Justice Abubakar Sadiq Umar

South East:

– Hon. Justice Chidiebere Nwaoma Uwa
– Hon. Justice Chioma Egondu Nwosu-Iheme
– Hon. Justice Obande Festus Ogbuinya

South South:

– Hon. Justice Moore Aseimo A. Adumein

South West:

– Hon. Justice Habeeb Adewale O. Abiru

The swearing-in ceremony slated for next week will see the Supreme Court bench attain its full complement as stipulated in the constitution.

The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, on Thursday, charged the newly appointed Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) and directors of the aviation agencies to optimally carry out their duties in the best possible way as outlined in the ministry’s key performance indicators.

He also told the CEOs and directors to resign if their goal in office is to make money and not serve the Nigerian people.

Keyamo stated this during the official induction ceremony for the newly appointed aviation heads of agencies in Abuja, the nation’s capital.

He said some of the key performance indicators of the ministry include ensuring strict compliance with safety regulations, supporting the growth of local airlines/operators, developing human capacity within the aviation industry and generating revenue for the Federal Government, amongst others

He reminded them of the financial policy of the government and advised them to strictly adhere to it and carefully scrutinise documents most especially ones that relate to finances.

Mid December, the Federal Government dismissed all directors of civil aviation agencies in the country following the sacking of the chief executive officers of the same organisations. The government also appointed new CEOs to head the agencies.

The affected agencies include the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Nigeria Metrological Agency (NiMET), Nigeria Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) and the Nigeria Safety and Investigation Bureau (NSIB).

The Supreme Court has affirmed the election of Umo Eno of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as the validly elected governor of Akwa Ibom State after dismissing the appeals of the three parties challenging the outcome of the election held on March 18 2023.

This comes after the apex court panel led by Justice Uwani Abba-Aji dismissed the appeals of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Young Progressives Party (YPP) and the Action Alliance (AC) based on the non-qualification of the governor over allegations of certificate forgery, which the governor denied.

The Court of Appeal had upheld the judgment dismissing the suit challenging the primary that produced Umo Eno as the PDP candidate for the state.

Okon had prayed the court to disqualify Eno on grounds that he allegedly forged a West African Examination Certificate (WAEC) which he submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the election.

The appellate court had dismissed the suit for want of merit and awarded the sum of 15 million naira against the plaintiff.

The judge ruled that Okon’s arguments were based on assumption and that he was unable to prove to the court that Eno’s certificates were forged.

Former Minister of Power and Steel, Olu Agunloye, has been granted bail in the sum of N50 million.

New Telegraph had earlier reported that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is investigating Agunloye over the $6 billion Mambilla Hydropower Contract.

Justice Jude Onwuegbuzie of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court Apo ordered Agunloye, who was charged with seven counts related to the fraudulent award of a contract and official corruption, to be remanded in Kuje Correctional Centre, until the bail application was heard and ruled upon.

However, during the hearing on Thursday, the Counsel for the former minister, Adeola Adedipe, requested that the court grant bail to his client either through self-recognisance or under lenient conditions.

Adedipe argued that Agunloye is not a flight risk and that the prosecution’s concerns were based on misunderstandings and communication issues.

Adedipe further requested that the court refrain from requiring a public servant to act as surety for his client.

The experienced attorney also contended that the misconceptions and concerns surrounding bail, as well as the arguments put forth by the prosecution, have been addressed by Section 352(4) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA).

According to Adeola, this provision states that “once a defendant is granted bail, even if they flee, the trial will proceed, and they will be convicted if necessary.”

However, the prosecution counsel objected to the bail application.
In delivering the verdict, Justice Onwuegbuzie stated that the court leans towards granting bail to the defendant.

The defendant was granted bail of N50 million and was instructed to provide two sureties who could match the same sum.

These sureties must be individuals of good reputation and financial means, residing within the FCT. They must possess properties valued at N300 million, with a verifiable Certificate of Occupancy.
Additionally, they are required to submit copies of their identification cards and photocopies of their international passports to the court.

The defendant must surrender his passport to the court and be present for all hearings. The case has been adjourned until February 12.

Amid the ongoing corruption allegation rocking the President Bola Tinubu led government, former Bayelsa senator, Ben Murray Bruce has revealed that Nigeria has a perception challenge.

Making this revelation in a tweet via his official X account on Thursday, the former Bayelsa senator revealed that there was a problem with the way we see ourselves as Nigerians.

Naija News reports that the former lawmaker called for the need to introduce a mind changing program to counter every negative thoughts of Nigeria in the mind of Nigerians.

He further tasked the federal government to fund the National Orientation Agency to enable them steer the country in the direction it needs.

Ben Bruce said, “Nigeria has a perception challenge. How we see ourselves is an issue. How others see us is also not ideal. And to fix that, we need to change our perception of ourselves. The last time this was done effectively was under Jerry Gana’s MAMSER.

“We need that mind changing program back. We must counter every negative thought about Nigeria in the minds of Nigerians with positive, patriotic, enlightening and wholesome thinking.

“This is where the National Orientation Agency comes in. Let’s fund them and set them in the direction this country needs them to go. Because, without that, I fear we may not grow. A well funded and led NOA will create a mental shift that will lead to an economic, social and moral revival in Nigeria.”

Ahead of the 2024 African Cup Of Nations (AFCON), Super Eagles of Nigeria coach, Jose Peseiro has issued a stern warning to his players that there’s no excuse not to give 100% in the tournament.

Peseiro who issued the warning shortly after the first team training on Wednesday night in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire said AFCON is a tough competition, but the team is 100% focused on the first game against Equatorial Guinea and they cannot afford to make mistakes in the tournament.

He said, “We cannot use the weather as an excuse, we need to put our Focus on and understand that, adapt well and do our best with the weather, hot humidity, don’t care about the weather, we only want to put the focus on the first match, it’s important for us.”

“Short tournament is that difficult tournament, hard tournament, Guinea Equatorial did better than us last AFCON and it’s a good team, but you want to win, you want to put 100% focus on everybody.

“No one in the training, meals, rest, meetings, all activities, we must put all our maximum focus because we cannot make mistakes in our next match, we have done a collective game to win our first match and it’s important for us.

“The first training was frustrating due to the long trip, we did hydration training. No tactics training, no conditional training, only hydration training,” he noted.

Peseiro also shared fitness news on Terem Moffi and Kelechi Iheanacho who were called up to the squad after Bayern Leverkusen striker, Victor Boniface was ruled out of the tournament with groin injury.

He said, “Moffi likes 14 because he plays with the team and Kelechi Iheanacho, he had contact with the medical staff, the staff and all the players and there, he’s working there for recovery and we have confidence in them.”

However, after losing 2-0 against Guinea in a friendly game on Monday afternoon, the team will be hoping to claim all three points in their AFCON opening match against Equatorial Guinea on Sunday afternoon by 3 pm at the Olympic Stadium of Ebimpé.