Jose Peseiro, the former head coach of Nigeria’s senior national team, continues to explain his decision to overlook NPFL players, citing their inferiority to foreign-based counterparts.

During his 20-month tenure, no NPFL player earned a spot in competitive matches for the Super Eagles, despite fervent discussions regarding their inclusion.

Peseiro departed after leading the team to a commendable second-place finish in the African Cup of Nations in Cote d’Ivoire, narrowly losing 1-2 to the host nation in the final.

Reflecting on his time with the Super Eagles, Peseiro emphasized the pressure to select NPFL talents but asserted his commitment to choosing the best players, especially after the team narrowly missed the World Cup.

“I watched many NPFL games, but none showcased the calibre of talent seen in foreign leagues. Quality must prevail over mere representation,” he remarked.

In a related development, former Super Eagles player Moses Kpakor urged Peseiro’s successor, Finidi George, to consider homegrown talents for national team selection.

Kpakor, renowned for his stints with BCC Lions and Abiola Babes, emphasized the importance of nurturing local talent and ensuring fair competition for national team spots.

“As a former NPFL player, I understand the value of giving home-based talents a chance. Finidi should prioritize merit over geography,” Kpakor asserted, advocating for inclusivity in player selection.

A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Jesutega Onokpasa, has alleged that certain appointees of President Bola Tinubu are plotting to succeed him before the end of his tenure and are seriously wishing that he will not make it to 2027 for their selfish reasons.

He also accused them of responsibility in the current ordeal of former governor of Kogi State Yahaya Bello and his Kaduna State counterpart, Malam Nasir el-Rufai.

Onokpasa, a lawyer and former member of the APC Presidential Campaign Council for Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, who lamented the alleged hypocrisy, pull him down syndrome and anti-party activities going on in the governing party, laid curses on those he accused of wishing Tinubu dead.

He said, “If they don’t repent, Asiwaju will attend their funeral.”

He stated this in a video, where he addressed party members and drew their attention to the belief that the ongoing drama around the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC’s) allegations against former governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello and the continued attack on former governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, were plans mapped out by these individuals to allegedly perfect their plans.

While expressing concern over ill treatments, selective prosecution and hounding meted out on some prominent chieftains of the party since the emergence of Tinubu’s presidency, Onokpasa alleged that the particular appointees he was referring to in Tinubu’s government were behind the ordeals of former Governors Yahaya Bello, Nasir El- Rufai and Abdullahi Ganduje in order to perfect their “satanic” succession plans, while allegedly wishing that the President would no longer be around by 2027.

Referring to a particular appointee of Tinubu whose name he did not mention, the APC chieftain said, “You drive el-Rufai away, you start hounding Ganduje, although there are other things involved, you start attacking Yahaya Bello, what did you do? You don’t have a mandate my friend, you are just an appointee… you think we don’t know what is going on?

“Listen, Asiwaju is a child of God. Asiwaju will rule this country for eight years. There is nothing anybody can do about that. He will rule this first four years, he will perform, Nigerians, again, will vote for him and next time around, we will win a majority of the total votes cast. So, all these satanic plans, plotting that our President will not make it to 2027, you are wasting your time. Get that through your head,” Onokpasa said.

The APC chieftain, who Nigerians know to be a die-hard supporter of Tinubu, bemoaned what he called the attitude of “using and dumping” people who worked for the victory of the president in 2023, while those who were against him and even insulted him, were being given priorities “over authentic supporters and genuine Batists.”

Onokpasa, who was also a member of the APC Presidential Legal Team and Chairman, Tinubu Media Support Group, said, “Of recent concern to me is the case of my younger brother, His Excellency, the former Governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello. In this party, we have had our brother, the former governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El Rufai basically chased out of our party despite what he did for us to make us win. Now, it is Yahaya Bello. A few weeks or months ago, it was our National Chairman, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje that was basically almost being chased from our party.”

On the Bello-EFCC controversy, he said it was for the court to decide, stating, “Nobody is supporting corruption. However, we fight corruption according to law and you will not have a personal indifference with somebody and then you use the instrumentality of office to torment that person. We will not tolerate that in this party. We must not.”

He also lambasted a particular appointee that he portrayed to be high-handed, alleging that the appointee funded an opposition member against the APC candidate, Usman Ododo, during the Kogi State governorship election.

Jose Mourinho would love to manage Manchester United again but the club does not want to reappoint the Portuguese, according to the Manchester Evening News.

It is claimed the 61-year-old has told confidants he would “walk” to Manchester to manage United for a second time, having been sacked by the club in December 2018. 

Mourinho, who was sacked by Roma in January after two-and-a-half years in charge, is reportedly a friend of United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe but the two-time Champions League winner is not expecting an approach from his former club.

Mourinho’s reported interest in the Man Utd job comes after the Red Devils suffered a humiliating 4-0 defeat at Crystal Palace on Monday which has left Erik ten Hag’s side eighth in the Premier League table.

Mourinho became Man Utd boss in May 2016 and won the Europa League and League Cup in his two-and-a-half years in the job.

The ex-Chelsea boss has since managed Tottenham and Roma, having won the Europa Conference League with the Italian side in 2022.

The Presidency has announced that President Bola Tinubu and his aides will return to Nigeria from Europe today.

Recall that the President travelled for a meeting with the Dutch Prime Minister, Mark Rutte, over two weeks ago, from where he took a trip to Saudi Arabia to attend a special World Economic Forum, WEF.

He subsequently travelled to Europe after the summit

Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, who announced the development in a post on his X handle yesterday, said: “President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, along with his aides, will return to Nigeria tomorrow (today) from Europe.”

On April 22, Tinubu left Abuja, the country’s capital, for the Kingdom of The Netherlands on an official visit.
Ajuri Ngelale, presidential spokesperson, said the president was visiting The Netherlands at the invitation of Prime Minister Mark Rutte.

After the engagements in The Netherlands, Tinubu proceeded to Riyadh in Saudi Arabia to attend a special World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting between April 28 and 29.

The president was expected back in the country after the forum in Saudi Arabia, but he did not return, which fueled speculations about his whereabouts.

Some reports said the president travelled to London from Saudi Arabia for a private visit before heading to France, a European country.

The Senate Chief Whip, Ali Ndume, has criticized the renovation work done in the Chamber, describing it as a poor job.

Ndume spoke in an interview with Channels Television’s Politics Today on Tuesday.

Under Order 42 of the Senate Standing Rules, Ndume described the Chamber as a conference hall.

The lawmaker said the Chamber is fraught with inadequacies such as poor sound system, evident in the echoes, poor sitting arrangements, lack of provision of voting devices, amongst others.

He said, “Since day one, precisely last week Tuesday, when we moved into this Chamber that supposed to have been renovated, there have been complaints here and there.”

Reacting to Ndume’s argument, the President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, however, explained that complaints on sitting arrangements among Senators have been sorted out 99.9%.

Akpabio said the contract for the renovation work was not done by the 10th National Assembly.

Nigerians, the organised labour, Civil Society Organisations and power sector experts have knocked the Nigerian Federal Government and Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, NERC, over the N18 downward review of electricity tariff for end-users under Band A.

Recall that NERC announced a tariff decrease for customers under Band A feeders on Monday.

The Commission slashed electricity to N200.6 per Kilowatt-hour from N225.

Ikeja Electric, Abuja, Kaduna, Ibadan, Enugu, and other discos effected the new tariff implementation on Monday.

The development comes a month after NERC approved a 240 per cent tariff hike for electricity customers getting between 20-24 hours of supply.

However, Nigerians, organised labour and other organisations have kicked against the hike, insisting on its reversal amid Nigeria’s economic hardship.

Recall that on Sunday, TUC issued a two-week ultimatum to NERC to reverse April tariff hike.

But, contrary to Nigerians and Organized Labour’s demand for an immediate electricity hike reversal, NERC settled for a downward tariff review.

NERC sighted Improved macroeconomic parameters as the reason for the downward review.

The Naira appreciated N1353.21 per Dollar on Monday at the foreign exchange market, up from N1400.4 on Friday last week.

Explaining the decision, NERC said, “The Commission has considered changes in the macroeconomic parameters over the preceding month of April 2024 and especially the appreciation of exchange rates – consequently, the Commission has approved a downward review of end-user tariffs for Band “A” customers from NGN225/kWh to NGN206.8/kWh”.

Barr Dafe Akpeneye, Commissioner of Legal, Licensing and Compliance at NERC, stressed that, “It is based on other macroeconomic variables that the tariff was reduced”.

Meanwhile, the development did not go down well with NLC, Civil Society Organisations and many other Nigerians.

They described the reduction as silly, insignificant, tokenism, and shallow.

In an exclusive interview with DAILY POST on Monday, Benson Upah, the spokesperson of NLC, described the development as tokenism, stressing that it would not positively impact consumers.

He said the downward review of electricity for end-users under Band A fell short of Nigerian workers’ demands and expectations.

He called for a total reversal of April’s tariff hike and a review of Nigeria’s power sector privatisation.

“This is tokenistic. It falls far below our demand or expectations. Doubtful if this will make a positive impact on consumers.

“A total reversal and a review of the privatisation of the power sector is our demand”, he told DAILY POST.

On his part, the national secretary of the Network for Electricity Consumers Advocacy of Nigeria, Uket Obonga, said NERC was confused and was making a mockery of the sector.

“NERC is confused. You wake up to issue electricity price hike. Is that the methodology of tariff fixing? NERC should not mock themselves.

“A methodology designed by the Commission has yet to be followed. All their claims about the benefit of electricity subsidy removal are scams,” he noted.

According to the 2023 Electricity Act, Section 116(6) provides that the proposed tariff will be published in Newspapers and the official gazette to enable stakeholders to raise concerns and representation to the Commission.

Additionally, it provides that the Commission shall issue notice to relevant stakeholders to submit their input within the timeframe determined by the Commission for consideration before the Commission updates the tariff methodology, which is why Obonga alleged that NERC failed to follow due process in issuing May’s tariff order.

Also, Ewetumo A A, a retired staff member of the defunct Power Holding Company of Nigeria, PHCN, formerly the National Electric Power Authority, NEPA, said the recent review shows how shallow and misdirected NERC personnel have become.

“It only shows how shallow and misdirected our bureaucrats and technocrats in NERC headquarters are.

“They refused to condemn a Gas-to-Power Policy denominated in US Dollar but are quick to pass on to hapless Nigerians the Forex fluctuations.

“NERC has no feasibility studies on Load Demand or a blueprint for building Power Plants to meet citizens’ energy needs nationwide but only to ration and price the little Megawatts remaining on the Grid”, he stated.

Similarly, the Lead Director of the Centre for Social Justice, Eze Onyekpere, said the tariff reduction is a silly manoeuvre by NERC.

He urged for a reverse to status before April’s tariff hike.

“It is a silly manoeuvre. It is above the market cost of electricity. How sustainable is the Naira appreciation?

“If the Naira slumps tomorrow, will the tariff be increased? That is why I call it a silly manoeuvre.

“They should go back to the status quo. Nigerians should know the actual cost of electricity. I am not impressed”, he told DAILY POST.

Super Eagles forward, Ademola Lookman has revealed the most difficult game he played at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.

Super Eagles coach, Jose Peseiro used Lookman majorly on the left wing during the tournament in Ivory Coast and he started six of the seven matches.

Lookman scored three goals and was named in the Team of the Tournament. 

Nigeria encountered the Bafana Bafana of South Africa in the semifinals where they won via penalty shootout.

They went on to play the host nation, Ivory Coast in the final and were beaten 2-1 by the Elephants.

However, the Atalanta forward told Calister Enejele that the Super Eagles’ opener against Equatorial Guinea was the most challenging.

“‘Probably Equatorial Guinea because we played at 2 pm, the heat and humidity was tough for us. Probably you have to say that game,” he said.

Nigerian government received $1.36 billion and $1.09 billion in corporate taxes and royalties from Shell Nigeria through its operations of the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited and Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company of Nigeria Limited in 2022 and 2023.

The company disclosed this in its recently published 2023 Shell Briefing Notes, according to a statement by the firm’s Media Relations Manager, Abimbola Essien-Nelson.

The figure showed that the SPDC paid $442 million, while SNEPCo remitted $649 million in taxes in 2023 alone to the Nigerian government.

However, the figure showed a $27 billion tax remittance decline in 2023 when compared to 2022.

“These payments are Shell exclusive and do not include those made by our partners,” said SPDC Managing Director and Country Chair, Shell Companies in Nigeria, Osagie Okunbor.

He noted that the firm was focused on Deepwater and Integrated Gas investment in Nigeria.

The development comes months after Shell Nigeria announced in January 2024 that it would exit onshore oil production in Nigeria.

The Central Bank of Nigeria has announced 44 lists of licensed deposit money banks in Nigeria.

The apex bank disclosed this in a list released on its official website on Tuesday.

According to CBN, Seven banks, including Zenith Bank, Access Bank, First Bank, First City Monument Bank, United Bank of Africa, Fidelity, and Guaranty Trust Bank, have Commercial Banking licenses with international authorization as of April 26, 2024.

Also, fifteen banks have commercial banking licenses with National Authorization.

Similarly, four banks have commercial banking licenses with regional authorization, and four non-interest banks have national authorization.

The bank said the country has six merchant banks licensed with national authorization.

It stated that financial holding companies increased to seven.

CBN added that the country has a Mauritius commercial bank representative office.

The list comes months after the CBN raised the minimum capital requirement for all banks in Nigeria to strengthen the country’s financial sector.

Kelechi Iheanacho, a Super Eagles and Leicester City striker, has rejected a new contract with the club despite interest from Unai Emery’s Aston Villa, Soccernet.ng reports.

The 27-year-old striker has made only ten league starts in the EFL Championships this season, with Enzo Maresca preferring Zambian Patson Daka to lead the line for the Foxes.

Iheanacho, along with Wilfred Ndidi, are nearing the end of their Leicester City careers, as their contracts expire in June 2024. While the defensive midfielder wants to join a Premier League top-six club, Iheanacho is not interested in staying at the King Power Stadium.

According to Football Insider, the highest-scoring African in the history of the FA Cup was offered an improved deal with a weekly wage of £65,000, but the Nigerian striker rejected the offer.

‘‘He (Iheanacho) has been offered a new deal but not prepared to sign. But we will wait till the end of the season and see,’’ the report stated.

Several reasons might have sparked Iheanacho’s reaction, with the absence of playing time at the forefront. According to Football Fancast, Aston Villa are interested in bringing the 2021 FA Cup winner to Villa Park as a backup for Ollie Watkins.

The Villains have enjoyed a great season under Unai Emery and have their eyes locked on a place in the UEFA Champions League next season. Should Iheanacho join Villa, he would have the luxury of playing alongside skilled players like Douglas Luiz, Leon Bailey, Ollie Watkins and Moussa Diaby.

Aston Villa view Iheanacho as an experienced Premier League forward, representing a summer bargain that could make all the difference next season at Villa Park.

In 10 starts for Leicester, Iheanacho found the back of the net five times and created one goal, averaging a goal involvement every two games.

The Foxes have secured a return to the English Premier League after relegating on the last matchday in the previous season.