Author: Peter Noah KC

PRESIDENT of the Nigeria Cricket Federation, Uyi Akpata, has said that the Minister of Sports Development, John Enoh, has pledged his full support to the Federation on their two-day host of the Cricket World Cup Trophy in the country. According to Akpata, “Despite the short time the Minister has settling down before our request came in to play our chief host for the World Cup, he has embraced it, and also pledged magnanimous support for the event.” The Cricket World Cup is on a Tour of three African countries, Uganda, Nigeria, and South Africa, ahead of the ODI World Cup…

RECENTLY-APPOINTED chief executive officer of Enugu Rangers, Amobi Ezeaku, has pledged to make the club truly professional as he unveiled strategic plans to revive the Flying Antelopes. Ezeaku made the pledge when he formally announced to pressmen of the club’s plans and programmes from 2023 to 2027 in Enugu. “We intend to achieve this through professionalism and become one of the most admired and followed clubs in Africa. “The plans will be achieved through three standing, which the club call “Rangers Trinity” in C. S. C. “The first C stands for Commercial Development and the S stands for Sporting Excellence,…

BARELY 24 hours after News Point Nigeria’s report, the Nigerian Army says it is in consonance with other security agencies to track down an armed gang who attacked a military Hilux vehicle in Benin City, the Edo State capital on Wednesday. Assistant Director of Army Public Relations, Yemi Sokoya, who disclosed this in a statement, also gave details of the incident. News Point Nigeria had exclusively reported that, gunmen had killed an unspecified number of soldiers following an attack on an army patrol van in Benin City. According to this newspaper’s report the incident was said to have occurred around…

NIGERIA’s Super Falcons have moved up eight places from 40th to 32nd team in the world according to the latest women’s ranking released by FIFA on Friday. In the list by the world football governing body, the eleven-time African champions maintained its position as the number one female national team on the continent. The impressive leap by the Falcons in the latest rankings is largely due to the team’s stellar outing at the just concluded 2023 Women’s World Cup. Nigerian team made it into the second round of the competition after a draw against Canada in their first game, a…

GUNMEN have reportedly killed an unspecified number of soldiers following an attack on an army patrol van in Benin City, the Edo State capital. The incident was said to have occurred around 2 pm on Thursday at First Junction along Akpakpava Road. A military source told News Point Nigeria Friday afternoon that, the gunmen ambushed the military vehicle carrying six occupants, heading towards the Ikpoba-Hill axis of the state capital. As of the time of filing this report, official confirmation of the incident from the relevant authorities is being awaited. More details shortly…

GOOGLE, Netflix, Facebook and other foreign companies operating in Nigeria have paid over N1.98tn in taxes to the account of the Federal Government in 15 months, according to findings by this newspaper. The figure includes both Company Income Tax and Value Added Tax, and is based on data from the National Bureau of Statistics. According to the Federal Inland Revenue Service, CIT is a 30 per cent tax imposed on the profit of companies, and VAT is a 7.5 per cent consumption tax paid when goods are purchased, and services rendered and borne by the final consumer. Earlier in 2020,…

BETWEEN July 2022 and June 2023, 3,620 people were abducted in over 582 kidnapping incidents in the country, with a reported ransom demand of at least N5billion and an actual ransom payment of over N302million, a figure that could be higher due to under-reporting. An SB Morgan intelligence report released on August 23, 2023, entitled, “The Economics of Nigeria’s Kidnap Industry: Follow the Money,” disclosed these figures. The Nigeria Police Force and the military high command – the Defence Headquarters, however, have gone silent over the heart-wrenching situation, while security experts called on the Office of the National Security Adviser…

SUPER Falcons’ Michelle Alozie says English forward Lauren James did not privately reach her – contrary to speculations – following a stomping incident in Nigeria’s loss to the Lionesses at the just-ended FIFA Women’s World Cup. The Chelsea forward stomped on the defender in the round of 16 tie which the Super Falcons lost 4-2 on penalties after normal and extra time ended barren. Lauren’s action earned her a red card and a two-game suspension. While the incident drew much attention from within and outside Nigeria, with the English star later apologising on social media, Alozie said the Chelsea footballer…

BENDEL Insurance’s return to continental football began smoothly with the Nigerian side defeating ASO Chlef 1-0 in a CAF Confederation Cup preliminary round tie Saturday. Imade Osarenkhoe’s first-half effort was enough for the Benin-based outfit to secure the first-leg win at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium in the Edo State capital. Although the Benin Arsenal, as they are called, took time to settle into the match, they made up for that just four minutes before the half-time whistle. An Insurance free-kick met Imade and the player wasted no time in sending the ball to the back of the net, throwing the…

THE Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited has secured a $3 billion Emergency Crude Repayment Loan from African Export-Import Bank (AFREXIM) Bank. In a short statement disclosing the deal, the NNPC said the commitment letter, which was signed at AFREXIM Bank’s headquarters in Cairo, Egypt on Wednesday, will enable it to support the Federal Government in its ongoing fiscal and monetary policy reforms aimed at stabilising the exchange rate market. The short statement reads, “The NNPC Ltd. and @afreximbank have jointly signed a commitment letter and Termsheet for an emergency $3billion crude oil repayment loan. “The signing, which took place…

THE Defence Headquarters today vehemently refuted circulating social media claims suggesting that the Armed Forces of Nigeria (AFN) had been approached with a request to change the nation’s leadership. In a statement released earlier, the Defence Headquarters emphasized that at no point in time did the AFN receive, entertain, or make any such declaration to any individual or group. The miliitary expressed concerns over the misinformation, attributing it to detractors aiming to destabilize the nation. The statement firmly positioned the AFN’s stance on the matter, stressing their unwavering commitment to democracy. They assured the public of their loyalty to His…

THE audited financial statement of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has shown that it owes JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs a combined sum of $7.5 billion as of the financial year ending December 2022. The reports also showed that part of CBN’s liabilities is another $6.3 billion owned in foreign currency forwards. The apex bank reported a profit after tax of N103.8 billion in its most recent financial year. In the report, CBN announced that it owes Goldman Sachs $500 million and JP Morgan $ 7 billion in what it classified as securities lending. CBN’s statement read in part:…

IN what industry watchers have called a bold move aimed at boosting subsea engineering and structural integrity solutions in the Nigerian energy market, the TSC Subsea, a global robotic deployed subsea engineering asset integrity solutions, has gone into strategic partnership with SubseaRobotix. The SubseaRobotix is the pioneer of Advanced Non-Destructive Technology solutions in Nigeria. While explaining the rationale for the partnership, the UK based Nigerian-born Dr Bello Salihu who is the co-founder and Chief Technology Officer at SubseaRobotix, informed The PUNCH through a statement that, “As pioneers of Advanced Non-Destructive Technology solutions in Nigeria through our fore-runner companies, SubseaRobotix is…

NIGERIA’s Super Falcons were the much better side on the night in Brisbane but England maintained their composure to go through on penalties, winning 4-2 to seal their spot in the last eight. Despite Nigeria having the better of the chances throughout, the European Champions — reduced to 10 players after 87 minutes — snuck home in front of 50,000 spectators after the match had finished 0-0 at the end of extra time – penalty it was. Despite the first penalty-taker, Georgia Stanway, firing wide, Nigeria missed their next two efforts and the European champions secured their spot in the…

NIGERIA have won the 2023 FIBA Women’s Afrobasket championship, making it a record fourth title on the bounce. The D’Tigress defeated Senegal 84-74 in Kigali, Rwanda to etch their names in Nigerian basketball folklore. Nigeria are now the second side, after Senegal (1974 to 1981), to have won the championship four times in a row. They now have six titles. The team clinched the crown in 2017, 2019, and 2021 before the most recent feat at the BK Arena. Nigeria started the game on a good footing, winning 19-10 in the first quarter. At half-time, it was 43-31 in the…

JAPAN’s surprise title charge at the Women’s World Cup gathered pace with a clinical 3-1 win over Norway to reach the last eight while Spain thrashed Switzerland 5-1 on Saturday. The 2011 champions Japan will face either holders the United States or Sweden in the quarter-finals and on this evidence they will take some stopping. They have won all four games in Australia and New Zealand — including a 4-0 thumping of Spain — scoring 14 times and conceding only once. Hinata Miyazawa is also quickly becoming one of the breakout stars of a World Cup which has been full…

DESPITE starting off on a largely disappointing note, African teams made history at the 2023 Women’s World Cup. Three of the four sides that represented the continent made it to the knockouts, the first time such is happening in the competition. Nigeria, South Africa, and Morocco all reached the tournament’s round of 16 while Zambia were eliminated after losing two of their first ties. While none of the African teams won their first games in Australia and New Zealand, they did not lose their last round of matches at the competition. That was enough to earn three of them a…

THE D’Tigress have reached the final of the FIBA 2023 Women’s AfroBasket championship. They overpowered hosts Rwanda 79-48 in the semi-final tie on Thursday to seal a fourth straight final appearance at the competition. Rena Wakama’s girls were dominant in the first quarter of the game, beating the hosts 22-6. Nigeria went into the half-time break leading with 26 points. But in the third quarter, Rwanda reduced the lead by 16 points. It ended 58-35 in Nigeria’s favour. Nigeria then continued their dominance in the last quarter to win the tie. The D’Tigress are to play Senegal who defeated Mali…

THE pump price of Premium Motor Spirit, popularly called petrol, was raised from N537/litre to N617/litre at some filling stations operated by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited in Abuja on Tuesday. Independent oil marketers confirmed the increase in the cost of the commodity, as they stated that any shift in price by NNPCL stations was an indication of a rise in the pump price of PMS. “This is because NNPCL is still the major importer of petrol into Nigeria currently, though other marketers are gradually importing the commodity. The price this (Tuesday) morning at some NNPCL stations is N617/litre,”…

TROOPS of the 192 Battalion Nigerian Army (NA), operating within the 81 Division Area of Responsibility, have successfully busted an international ammunition smuggling syndicate. The details of this feat from the army was contained in a statement on Monday, by Brigadier General Onyema Nwachukwu, the Director, Army Public Relations. Acting on actionable intelligence, the troops conducted a meticulous Stop and Search operation along the Ajilete-Owode Road in Yewa North Local Government Area of Ogun State on Saturday, July 15, 2023. General Nwachukwu said during the operation, the troops discovered a truck, bearing the registration number ENU 697 XY, which was…