By Douglas Baye-Osagie _dbayeosagie@yahoo.com_ Another non-qualification now looms over Nigerian football. The 3-0 defeat to Guinea-Bissau in Bissau was not merely a bad result; it was a warning about the complacency that has followed the Super Eagles for too long. Guinea-Bissau scored through Franculino Dju, Mama Baldé and Álvaro Djaló to hand Eric Chelle his first competitive defeat within 90 minutes as Nigeria coach, leaving the Super Eagles on three points after two matches while Guinea-Bissau moved to six. After missing the 2026 World Cup, Nigeria cannot afford another major tournament failure. The most troubling part is that this was…
Author: National Update
ABUJA — Alternative Bank has opened a new branch in Gwarinpa, Abuja, expanding its presence in the capital while pushing financing into renewable energy and other areas beyond conventional banking services. The bank launched the branch on Wednesday before traditional leaders, government representatives and institutional partners. Alternative Bank Executive Director, North-Central, South-East and South-South, Garba Mohammed, said the new location would give customers easier access to the bank’s financing products, including Alt Power. Alt Power allows customers to finance renewable energy installations and repay the cost over time. “We provide services that give people access to renewable energy. We call…
By Lamara Garba The first sign that Bauchi is being left behind is not a road sign. It is the silence. As the road stretches towards Yankari, the bustle of the city gradually gives way to open country. Buildings thin out, the horizon widens, and forests, rocky hills and grasslands begin to dominate the landscape. The journey takes on a different rhythm as the ordinary noise of the city gradually gives way to the sounds of the wild. Then comes Yankari. Here, nature does not arrive as a carefully constructed attraction. It is already there, in the ancient woodland, open…
Former Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Solomon Dalung, has accused Borno State Governor, Babagana Zulum, of applying a double standard to political expression. His criticism followed the arrest of five Maiduguri residents over T-shirts bearing the inscription, “Tinubu Must Go.” Dalung said the reported prosecution of the men raised serious questions about the space available for dissenting political opinions in Borno State. The five residents were reportedly arrested by the police and charged with conspiracy, inciting disturbance, disturbance of public peace and thuggery. Amnesty International has condemned the arrests and called for their immediate release, according to BusinessDay, which…
The presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, Peter Obi, has delivered a stinging Independence Day assessment of Nigeria’s political leadership, accusing successive leaders of failing to turn the country’s enormous resources into a better life for its citizens. Obi said 66 years after independence, Nigerians were still battling poverty, insecurity, hunger, unemployment, poor healthcare and an education crisis despite the country’s abundant human and natural resources. He said the anniversary should therefore be more than a celebration, insisting that it was time for the country to confront the consequences of decades of poor leadership and failed choices. Obi said…
By Friday Idachaba, Lokoja Kogi West has intensified its demand to produce the next governor of the state, declaring that 35 years of exclusion from the governorship has become untenable. The group declared that “it is now West O’Clock.” The demand was made by community and political groups under the aegis of DeGroup at the Kogi Power Rotation Summit. They called for a binding framework to guide political power-sharing among the three senatorial districts. In a memorandum, the Rimi Development Association, Lokoja, argued that Kogi West had never produced a governor since the state was created in 1991. The association…
The National Fish Association of Nigeria has blamed the rising price of fish in Nigerian markets on the depreciation of the naira and the country’s continued dependence on imported fish. The association’s President, Dr Ladan Aliyu, stated this in Abuja during the formal presentation of the newly elected NFAN executive to the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment. Aliyu said Nigeria currently produces less than a quarter of the estimated three million metric tonnes of fish required annually. He said the supply gap had increased the country’s dependence on imports, putting pressure on prices amid foreign exchange challenges. According…
Sixty-six gongs beat now Since nine timed 60, One followed nine. The river of songs jumped From every water body In the land of our birth, Over doubts and denials, On the first day of the tenth month, When we remembered how we lowered The Union Joke and hoisted The green-white grin To find the right face to smile. As notions get the motions To find the square root, To number the days that count, The even and odd numbers And the compound interest That accrue from the equation In the algebra of living ethnicities And legions of religiocities And…
Former Kogi East Senator, Emmanuel Dangana Ocheja, aged 74, has married 18-year-old Winifred in Abuja. Ocheja, who represented Kogi East in the National Assembly between 2011 and 2015, reportedly held two wedding ceremonies with the young bride. The couple’s traditional wedding was held on September 13, while their white wedding took place on September 19 in Abuja. According to businessman Isaac Fayose, who shared the development on social media, Winifred is reportedly the best friend of Ocheja’s granddaughter. Ocheja is a lawyer-turned-politician and a member of the All Progressives Congress. He served in the Nigerian Senate from 2011 to 2015.…
The Director-General of the Kano State Social Protection Agency, Hajia Fatima Abubakar Abdullahi, has urged Nigerians to support Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf’s efforts to protect poor and vulnerable citizens. Abdullahi made the call in her Independence Day message as Nigeria marked its 66th anniversary. She said the country’s progress must not be measured by economic growth alone, but also by how well it protects disadvantaged citizens. The KASPA DG urged individuals, communities, development partners and the private sector to support social protection initiatives across Kano State. She said protecting vulnerable households was a shared responsibility that required collective action. According…