Former Nigeria forward Finidi George will occupy the chief’s corner in the dugout when the Super Eagles confront West African arch-rivals Ghana in an international friendly in Marrakech on Friday.

The 52-year-old former Ajax Amsterdam (The Netherlands) and Real Betis (Spain) winger, who made a scoring debut in an Africa Cup of Nations qualifying match against Burkina Faso at the National Stadium, Lagos on 27th July 1991, has been appointed by the NFF to hold the reins in the meantime as a group of 22 players take on Ghana and Mali in this month’s international window.

On his debut in 1991, George, who also featured for Calabar Rovers and Sharks FC in the domestic scene before heading to Europe, scored one and made four assists for legendary ‘goalsfather’ Rashidi Yekini (of blessed memory), and also assisted the latter to score Nigeria’s first-ever FIFA World Cup goal against Bulgaria in Dallas, USA on 19th June 1994.

Actually, George scored the goal that took Nigeria to her first FIFA World Cup finals, when he put Nigeria ahead against hosts Algeria in a crucial qualifier in Algiers on 8th October 1993. The match eventually ended 1-1 and earned Nigeria a ticket to the finals in America.

On Friday, Finidi George, from a family of football stars (elder brother Alari and younger brother Igeniwari of blessed memory were established players), will bellow instructions from the touchline, 21 months after he began to understudy Portuguese José Santos Peseiro, who led the Super Eagles to runner-up position at the 34th Africa Cup of Nations in Cote d’Ivoire earlier in the year.

As at Tuesday lunchtime, 12 of the 22 players expected had arrived in Morocco’s fourth-largest city, with defenders Gabriel Osho and Tyronne Ebuehi, and forwards Victor Osimhen and Taiwo Awoniyi having been knocked out by injury.

At the team’s Adam Park Hotel in Marrakech are goalkeepers Stanley Nwabali and Olorunleke Ojo, defenders Calvin Bassey, Semi Ajayi, Jamilu Collins, Bruno Onyemaechi and Benjamin Tanimo, midfielders Alex Iwobi, Raphael Onyedika and Alhassan Yusuf, and forwards Moses Simon, Nathan Tella, Cyriel Dessers, Fisayo Dele-Bashiru, Sadiq Umar and Ademola Lookman.

Goalkeeper Francis Uzoho, defender Chidozie Awaziem, midfielders Frank Onyeka and Wilfred Ndidi, and forward Kelechi Iheanacho were being expected in Marrakech by Tuesday. Only Turkey-based defender Bright Osayi-Samuel is being expected on Wednesday.

The African vice champions will also take on the Les Aigles of Mali at the same Grand Stade de Marrakech on Tuesday, 26th March.

Nigerian sprint icon, Tobi Amusan has won the women’s 100m hurdles Round 1 heat at the 13th Africa Games in Ghana.

Amusan won the heat with a time of 13.03s.

By virtue of the victory, Amusan secured a spot in the semis of the women’s 100m hurdles at the ongoing Africa Games.

Meanwhile, Team Nigeria lost the men’s and women’s 100m gold to Cameroon and Gambia respectively, settling for silver and bronze in the events on Tuesday.

Usheoritse Itsekiri returned at a time of 10.23secs to lose the men’s 100m surprisingly to Cameroon’s Emmanuel Eseme who finished at 10.14secs while Namibia’s Hainuca Gilbert took the bronze with a time of 10.25secs.

Nigeria’s other entrant in the men’s 100m, Emmanuel Ekanem returned at a time of 10.42secs to finish a distant fourth.

In the Africa Games women’s 100m, Olayinka Olajide could only muster a third place finish to win bronze with a time of 11.55secs behind Miriam Bittaye of Gambia who won the gold with 11.36secs and Alyse Miccoy of Liberia whose 11.49secs gave her the silver medal.

Governor Sheriff Oborevwori, has met with President Bola Tinubu over the killing of 16 military personnel in Okuoma community of Ughelli South local government area of Delta State.

Recall that 16 military personnel comprising the Commanding Officer of the 181 Amphibious Battalion, a Lieutenant ​Colonel, two majors, one captain, and 12 soldiers were killed while on a “peacekeeping mission” in Okuoma community last week Thursday.

While the Delta State and the federal governments have condemned the incident while promising that perpetrators would face the wrath of the law, the visit of the State governor to the Presidency on Tuesday may have been spurred by the incident.

Briefing State House correspondents after meeting behind closed-door with the President, the governor said that the situation was under control, assuring that there would be no more further attacks.

The governor declined to confirm the report of reprisal attacks allegedly carried out by the military and the number of casualties, saying that being a security issue, there are certain things he cannot say in the public.

He said that he met with the security heads in Bomadi LGA of the State on Monday but has been unable to meet with the community involved because the place of the incident was completely deserted.

The detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, has urged the Federal High Court to send him to Kuje prison.

He alleged that the Department of State Services had no medical facility to treat him, adding that there was a conspiracy for him to die in the DSS custody.

He said, “People will come to see me they will not allow them. They don’t have a medical facility. I have congestive heart failure. They are patching me up.

“My foot is swollen. I asked them to conduct surgery, and they said they couldn’t. There is a conspiracy to die in detention. I want to be transferred to Kuje.”

Details later…

Former Governor of Benue State, Senator Gabriel Suswam has slammed the government of President Bola Tinubu.

Speaking on Tuesday, he said the current administration under the All Progressives Congress, APC, doesn’t have a direction.

Suswan claimed that all the policies, including economic and social, have fallen flat on their faces.

The former governor stated this while fielding questions on Arise Television’s News programme.

He suggested that Nigerians need a viable alternative, which is achievable with serious and focused leadership.

“We had President Olusegun Obasanjo who did very well and handed over to late Umaru Musa Yaradua, who unfortunately died, and his tenure was completed by his Vice President Goodluck Jonathan. Unfortunately, Goodluck Jonathan lost the election to the All Progressives Congress, APC; he lost to Muhammadu Buhari.

“We lost that election because of what’s happening today, there was a lack of discipline in the party at that time, coupled with the massive propaganda and lies by the current party in power now. We couldn’t make any headway and we lost the election.

“Buhari came in making promises of change. Buhari’s eight years have come and gone, and it’s left for Nigerians to frankly determine if they were better off or worse than then.

“I believe this country nosedived and changed for the worst. Because if we look at the economic parameters that were left by Jonathan and what happened during Buhari’s time, most Nigerians say they would have preferred Jonathan’s time.

“The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, we thought would win that election. Nomination was done, and then a crisis started after former Vice President Atiku Abubakar was nominated to carry the flag of PDP. Some Governors felt they were short-changed.

“It’s obvious that the APC under the current leadership doesn’t have a direction. All the policies, whether they are economic, political or social have fallen flat on their faces. And so, Nigerians need a viable alternative, which is achievable with serious and focused leadership, something I can provide."

Mele Kyari, the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL has made a promise to Nigerians.

He stated that the refinery in Kaduna State will be ready for production by December 2024.

He disclosed this during a meeting with the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria and the Major Energy Marketers Association of Nigeria in Abuja.

He disclosed that operations at the Port Harcourt refinery are scheduled to begin in two weeks.

According to Kyari: “We did a mechanical completion of the (Port Harcourt) refinery, that was what we said in December. We now have crude oil already stocked in the refinery. We are doing regulatory compliance tests that must happen in every refinery before you start it, and I assure you that this Port Harcourt refinery will start in the next two weeks.

“Completing the mechanical work means that you are done with the rehabilitation work, now you have to test to see how it works. Of course, we have also completed the mechanical work on the Warri refinery.

“It is also undergoing regulatory compliance; processes that we are doing with our regulator, and this will soon be completed and it will be ready.

“The Kaduna refinery will be ready by December. We have not reached that stage in Kaduna, but we promise Kaduna will be delivered by December.”

Afe Babalola (SAN), the founder of Afe Babalola University, has said that indigenes of Ekiti state are facing hardship because all former Governors failed to implement the blueprint for the state.

According to him, the plan was for Ekiti to be the best state in Nigeria but it failed.

Speaking at the commissioning of ABUAD Multi-System Hospital, Annex Odo-Ado, at Igirigiri road in Ado Ekiti, Babalola commended Governor Biodun Oyebanji for his recent strides, adding that the vision behind the creation of Ekiti was to make it the best state in Nigeria.

He said;

“It pains me that you didn’t become governor of Ekiti much earlier than now. We know what we did to bring Ekiti State into existence. Our vision was for Ekiti to be the best state in Nigeria, that will be setting the pace as my university is setting the pace now.

“Unfortunately those who became governor before you didn’t have the love of Ekiti. Go and tell them that I said so. That is why we are facing so much hardship in the state. When I was a local government councilor in the sixties, I didn’t receive a salary.

“That was when there was development in Ekiti Local Government. We thought that those who are coming to govern Ekiti will follow our footstep and our blueprints but they refuse to follow it. However, this governor is doing a yeoman’s job.”

Nigeria’s Under-20 female football team, the Falconets, will take on Ghana on Thursday in the final of the women’s football event at the 13th African Games in Ghana.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Falconets booked their place in the finals after defeating Uganda 2-0 in the match played at the Cape Coast Stadium on Monday in the first semi-final.

Ghana also defeated the Teranga Lionesses of Senegal 3-1 to book a place in the final.

The final between Nigeria and hosts Ghana will hold at the Cape Coast Stadium on Thursday at 8 p.m.

Meanwhile, Uganda will face Senegal to fight for the bronze medal in the event, which will hold at Cape Coast Stadium on the same day (Thursday) by 5 p.m.

NAN reports that Falconets won the gold medal in the event at the 12th African Games in Rabat, Morocco, in 2019.

The 13th African Games, which started on March 8, will end on March 23. The ongoing games are being held across three cities: Accra, Kumasi, and Cape Coast. (NAN)

The Edo State House of Assembly has directed the state Chief Judge, Justice Daniel Okungbowa to set up a seven man panel to investigate the allegations levelled against the state deputy governor Ry Philip Shaibu.

The state assembly is accusing the deputy governor of misconduct and divulging governments information to the public.

The panel is expected to carry out a thorough investigation into the allegations and make necessary recommendations.

The brief sitting was presided over by the Speaker, RT Hon Blessing Agbebaku.

Recall that the Edo State House of Assembly, earlier this month, began an impeachment move against Shaibu, accusing him of constitutional infractions.

But, Shaibu, denied being served with impeachment notice from the state House of Assembly as claimed by the Speaker, Hon. Blessing Agbebaku during plenary.

The inability of the House, according to the Speaker, to physically serve Shaibu led to a substituted service through advertorial in the newspaper.

Meanwhile, in a letter addressed to the Speaker dated March 12, 2024 and titled “RE: Service of Impeachment Notice,” signed by the Personal Assistant to the Deputy Governor, Charles Olubayo, Shaibu denied ever being served any letter and refusing to collect same.

He said Shaibu has been out of the state since March 3 and therefore could not have been served as claimed during plenary.

His supporters, however, believe that he is being persecuted because he is interested to succeed his boss in office, Gov Godwin Obaseki.

Shaibu emerged as the governorship candidate in a parallel primary election held on February 22, 2024.

President Bola Tinubu is preparing to initiate a novel three-step approach for evaluating the performance of Ministers and heads of Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) as he approaches the completion of his first year in office.

This innovative strategy aims to incorporate public opinion into the decision-making process regarding the retention or dismissal of cabinet members and key agency leaders by May 29, 2024.

Insiders from the Presidential Villa in Abuja disclosed to BusinessDay that the President intends to launch the feedback platform on Tuesday.

This digital platform is designed to gather assessments from Nigerians on the performance of each minister and their contributions to the administration’s objectives.

However, the inauguration of this feedback mechanism has been postponed to the following week.

The delay allows for the finalization of necessary preparations by the office of the Special Adviser on Policy Coordination, led by Hadiza Bala-Usman.

This extension is to ensure the platform is fully operational and capable of capturing comprehensive and insightful feedback from the citizenry.

The source said, “This will be done at three different levels. First, you have members of the public who can through the platform, get relevant information on the President Bola Tinubu’s targets for each Ministry and through that give feedback on the performance of each Minister based on the targets provided.

“The next stage will be evaluation carried out by the Policy Coordination office, and lastly, a group of Consultants will also give their assessments on the Ministers performance

“So, these will be the basis for determining which Minister stays and those that will leave the cabinet because of poor performance.”

Bala-Usman had earlier in the year indicated that President Tinubu “will drop ministers who do not deliver on their mandates.”

She had stated this at the opening of a technical retreat organised for delivery desk officers of federal ministries, to train them on implementation of presidential priorities and ministerial deliverables, in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom state capital.

Usman warned that “President is serious about delivering on his promise to make life better and easier for Nigerians.

“You must understand that as ministerial delivery desk officers you are the engine room that will provide that feedback and constantly track ministerial progress and report challenges and bottle to the CDCU.”

The retreat, according to her, “was to introduce the delivery officers to the framework of the delivery chain for progress tracking and build the officers’ capacity on monitoring of the delivery plan”

The President had tasked the Special Adviser on Policy and Coordination, soon after the Ministerial retreat on November 3rd, 2023, to “immediately activate the performance tracking system in a way that maximally leverages on cutting- edge digital innovation to provide real time oversight capability for the benefit of all Nigerians.”

The President also charged the Ministers to demonstrate diligence, innovative thinking, commitment, and an unrelenting focus on resul, added that “I want to reiterate that the Renewed Hope Agenda is about more than just economic growth.

“It is also about building a more just and equitable society for all Nigerians. It is about creating jobs, improving education and healthcare, and reducing poverty. It is about ensuring that all Nigerians have the opportunity to succeed.

“I know that we have a lot of work ahead of us, but I am confident we can achieve our goals. We have a strong team in place, and we are committed to working together to build a better future for Nigeria.

“Let me remind you that our people are not interested in excuses, political games, or procrastination. Neither am I. They are interested in tangible results. They seek solutions to the problems that have long plagued our great nation. The challenge before us demands that we must put aside personal ambitions and focus on adhering to the performance bond we have all signed up to on this day. These performance bonds represent a contract we must uphold.”

The President also emphasized the importance of data in governance, saying: “Data is the life- blood of effective governance. It enables us to understand the challenges we face so that we can design and implement effective solutions as well as monitor and evaluate our progress. Without data, we are flying blind.”

It was also gathered on Monday that the Policy Coordination Office will rely mostly on the recommendations made at the first Ministerial retreat, in assessing the achievements of each Minister.