Cyriel Dessers says he does “not have to answer” his critics after scoring what could prove to be a pivotal equaliser in Rangers’ pursuit of the Champions League group stage. Despite scoring 22 goals in his debut campaign at Ibrox, the Nigeria forward has been a much-maligned figure during his time in Scotland. That theme was carried into the start of this season as the 29-year-old missed chances in Saturday’s goalless draw with Heart of Midlothian and then in Tuesday’s Champions League first-leg qualifying tie with Dynamo Kyiv. But Dessers kept a cool head to net a 94th-minute leveller in…
Author: UZDO Media
Nigeria’s senior women’s basketball team, D’Tigress, crashed out of the 2024 Olympic Games after losing 88-74 to the United States of America in the quarterfinals of the women’s basketball event on Wednesday, The PUNCH reports. While it was business as usual for the USA as they continued to bear down on yet another successful title defence, Nigeria bowed out of the competition as basketball heroes. Having exceeded expectations by making it to the last 16—a feat no other African team has achieved—the Nigerians were hoping to book a place in the semi-finals of the competition at the expense of the…
DAMILOLA AINA explores the essential factors to consider when investing in bank shares and the pitfalls to avoid The Nigerian banking sector has recently become a focal point for investment, largely due to a new directive issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria, mandating an increase in the minimum capital base for banks. As a result, 26 banks are actively engaged in the capital markets and other investment platforms, seeking to raise funds to strengthen their financial stability and resilience. This initiative is designed to bolster the sector’s ability to support economic growth, enhance its robustness against financial shocks, and…
MANY government agencies in Nigeria are bogged down in inefficiency. For years, the Nigerian Communications Commission has tried to register citizens for the National Identity Number. At one point, it mandated citizens to link their NIN to the Subscriber Identity Module. The linkage policy, too, has continued to be fraught with challenges. It is unacceptable for the government to put citizens through registration hardship because of its inefficiency. After many aborted deadlines, the NIN-SIM linkage issue provoked outrage again last week as telcos blocked SIMs not linked with the owners’ NINs just before the July 31 deadline mandated by the…
The Central Bank of Nigeria has auctioned $876.26m to end users whose bids were submitted by 26 commercial banks in the apex bank’s latest attempt to strengthen the ailing naira. The policy impacted the foreign exchange market on Wednesday as the naira appreciated against the United States Dollar, trading at N1,596.52/$ from N1,601/$ it traded on Tuesday. The auction process was conducted on August 6, 2024, to enhance foreign exchange liquidity in the market, alleviate demand pressure, and support price discovery in alignment with the apex bank’s objectives. The CBN said this in a statement posted on its website on…
The Serving Overseer of the Citadel Global Community Church, Pastor Tunde Bakare, on Wednesday, said Nigerian politicians were not living lean or sacrificing like the rest of the citizens whom they asked to sacrifice for the country by enduring economic hardship. The cleric and politician said this at the Wilson and Yinka Badejo Memorial Lecture 2024 held at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs, Victoria Island, Lagos. The event, organised by the Wilson & Badejo Foundation, was to honour the memories of former General Overseer of the Foursquare Gospel Church, Wilson Badejo, and his wife, Yinka. Bakare delivered the keynote…
President Bola Tinubu has disclosed that the country spends N2tn monthly to import petrol and diesel. Tinubu stated this during his recent nationwide broadcast to Nigerians. According to the President, despite Nigeria’s abundant oil and gas resources, his administration met a country that was dependent only on oil, neglecting its gas resources while subsidising the cost of fuel. Tinubu removed fuel subsidies on his first day in office, and this led to an increase in the pump price of petrol from about N200 per litre in May 2023 to about N700 at the moment. As a result, the President noted…
Belal Muhammad, the newly crowned UFC welterweight champion, has set his sights on a potential bout with former champion Kamaru Usman for his first title defense. Muhammad, who recently defeated Leon Edwards at UFC 304 to claim the championship, has expressed his eagerness to defend his title promptly, a contrast to many fighters who often take a hiatus after reaching the pinnacle. Muhammad attended UFC Abu Dhabi this past weekend and, reflecting on his victory in Manchester, mentioned two possible contenders for his first defense. “Any of them, right? Usman, obviously, I think for legacy,” Muhammad said. “He’s one of…
With the amount of abundant– yet untapped – renewable energy resources Nigeria is blessed with, we are not supposed to have any business with energy poverty and the attendant economic backwardness that comes with it. We should not even be counted among the other developing nations who often face obstacles of poor infrastructure, high levels of poverty, weak power transmission and distribution networks, which naturally lead to an inability to adapt to climate change or embark on an equitable just transition for its citizens. But, the sad situation is that we are the chief culprit and undisputed band leader. According…
The University of Benin (UNIBEN) in Benin City, the Edo State capital, has announced that all the students of the school will sign a compulsory affidavit of undertaking never to sponsor or participate in any assembly or demonstration on the campuses and their precincts without the approval of the university management. The university also said the students will sign an affidavit of undertaking to abide by the arrangement(s) put in place by the university management for the supply, distribution and utilisation of electricity on its campuses. The institution made the announcement in a circular issued on Wednesday…