Author: Peter Noah KC

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…

THE Nigerian movie industry Nollywood has been hit with yet another sad event, as veteran actress, Cynthia Okereke, has reportedly died. Her death was announced by her colleague, Joseph Okechukwu, in a post on his verified Twitter handle on Wednesday. Sharing a photo of the actress, Okechukwu wrote, “REST IN PEACE, Nwanyi oma. I’m shattered beyond words. The fact that I was about to pay for your flight ticket to come to finish what we started only to hear you went to be with Lord just last night is one of the toughest things I’ve ever had to deal with…

EXPECTATIONS on the ministerial list have heightened as President Bola Tinubu clocks over 40 days in office. By law, Tinubu is required to name his cabinet within 60 days after taking the oath of office on May 29 and transmits it to the Senate for confirmation. With less than 18 days to submit his cabinet list to the National Assembly as recommended by the constitution, lawmakers and other Nigerians are anxiously waiting for the list of ministers who would help to deliver the President’s renewed hope agenda. Multiple NASS Assembly sources said the federal parliament was awaiting Tinubu’s ministerial list,…

THE Enugu State Police Command has put an end to a gang of gunmen, who attempted to enforce an illegal sit-at-home in Enugu in the early hours of Friday morning. This was disclosed by the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) of the Command, DSP Daniel Ndukwe, in a statement he issued in Enugu Friday evening. DSP Ndukwe disclosed that a further manhunt by a combined team of tactical police operatives of the Command after an early morning clash with the gunmen led to the recovery of the lifeless bodies of four of the male hoodlums in a forest at Awkunanaw,…

The Supreme Court has upturned the conviction of Senator Peter Nwaoboshi  and his sentencing to seven years imprisonment for offences of fraud and money laundering.  The apex court ordered the immediate release of Nwaoboshi, who represented Delta North in the ninth Senate, from Ikoyi prisons in Lagos, where he is currently being held. The apex court ordered the immediate release of Nwaoboshi, who represented Delta North in the ninth Senate, from Ikoyi prisons in Lagos, where he is currently being held. In a lead judgment by Justice Emmanuel Agim, the apex court held that Nwaobishi and the two companies were…

PRESIDENT Bola Ahmed Tinubu has joined millions of users across the globe on the trending social media app, Threads. Meta billionaire founder and chief executive officer, Mark Zuckerberg, launched Threads to compete with Elon Musk’s Twitter. The new app gained over 10 million sign-ups in the first seven hours of launch. In his first post on Threads, President Tinubu wrote: “My fellow Tailors, Idan has landed.” Other Nigerians notable Nigerians that have signed up for Threads are music artistes Adekunle Gold, Blaqbonez, Chike, Sean Tizzle, Maleek Berry, YCEE, Dremo, Bayani and Darey Art Alade. Others include Nollywood stars Alexx Ekubo,…

THE Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, on Sunday said it would withdraw the result of a certain Ejikeme Mmesoma for manually inflating her result and announcing herself as the top scorer for the 2023 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination. According to a statement issued by the board, Ejikeme used her manually inflated score to attract a N3 million scholarship from Innoson Motors and was set to be honnoured by the Anambra State government before she was exposed. “The attention of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board has been drawn to several publications in both print and online media celebrating certain candidates…

THE Nigerian Navy has reshuffled the appointments of top senior officers comprising 56 Rear Admirals and a Commodore. The appointments are coming after the assumption of office of the Acting Chief of Naval Staff, Emmanuel Ogalla, who was recently appointed by President Bola Tinubu. This reshuffling was made known in a statement by the Director of Information at the Nigerian Navy, A.O Ayo-Vaughan, which was made available to Channels Television on Thursday. According the statement, Rear Admiral Olusanya Bankole formerly the Director of Logistics, Defence Space Administration, is now appointed as the Chief of Communications and Information Technology, Naval Headquarters…

THE National Population Commission, Federal Commissioner representing Edo State, Dr Tony Aiyejina, on Wednesday, said the shift in the 2023 general elections by the Independent National Electoral Commission, was the major reason why the NPC had to postpone the 2023 population census. Dr Aiyejina, who disclosed this at an interactive media chat organised by the Commission in Benin, noted that while NPC shifted the date for the census to May, the coming of the rains put paid to the exercise in order to uphold the principle of simultaneity which guides census exercises world over. He however, assured that whenever the…