IMO BREAKING NEWS BLOG

Super Falcons striker Asisat Oshoala has won a record fifth African Women’s Player of the Year Award. Oshoala, who plays club football for Barcelona, beat Grace Chanda (Zambia/BIIK Kazygurt) and Ajara Nchout Njoya (Cameroon/Inter Milan) to the award.

The win sees her overtake her compatriot Perpetual Nkwocha as the player with the most African Women’s Player of the Year Award. She was the only Nigerian nominee to make the 2022 CAF awards’ final shortlist.

Super Falcons’ coach Randy Waldrum was originally nominated for Coach of The Year but dropped from the final shortlist. The situation was similar for Super Eagles players Moses Simon and Akinkunmi Amoo.

Oshoala, 27, had equalled Nkwocha’s then record wins of four in 2019. 

Senegal's Sadio Mane was crowned African Footballer of the Year for the second time running at the Confederation of African Football (Caf) awards ceremony in the Moroccan capital Rabat. Mane scored the winning penalty as Senegal beat Egypt in a shootout in this year's Africa Cup of Nations final to lift the trophy for the first time.

The awards returned for the first time in three years after being suspended by the coronavirus pandemic, with Nigeria's Asisat Oshoala also retaining the title she won in 2019. "I am very, very happy to receive the trophy this year," Mane, 30, said as he collected his prize. Mane beat compatriot and Chelsea goalkeeper Edouard Mendy as well as former Liverpool team-mate Salah, whose Egypt side lost February's final.

"I thank the Senegalese people, and dedicate this trophy to the youth of my country," added Mane, who also helped Senegal reach the World Cup and won two domestic cups with Liverpool. Mane's prize was one of five picked up by Senegal in a total of seven men's categories after a night to remember for the West African nation. Long-standing Senegalese boss Aliou Cisse won coach of the year, with his side named men's team of the year, while Pape Sarr was named young player of the year and another Senegalese, Pape Ousmane Sakho, won best goal for his overhead kick for Tanzanian side Simba.

"We waited a long time for this Nations Cup," said Augustin Senghor, the president of Senegal's football federation. "We are a good example to all those teams who have not yet won (the tournament)."

President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday met with some stakeholders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) at the Council Chamber of the Presidential Villa in Abuja. It was gathered that the presidential candidate of the ruling party, Bola Tinubu, was conspicuously absent at the meeting.

Similarly, none of the state governors in the south-west region elected on the party’s platform, as well as the Speaker of the House of Representatives, was present as of the time the President arrived at the chamber. It is unclear why the meeting held, as well as why the APC flagbearer, speaker, and south-west governors were absent at the meeting.

The meeting, on the other hand, was attended by the President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan; Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Idris Wase; APC National Chairman, Abdullahi Adamu; and APC Vice-Presidential Candidate, Senator Kashim Shettima.

Others include Chairman of the Progressives Governors Forum and Kebbi State Governor, Atiku Bagudu; Governor Babagana Zulum of Borno State; Governor Mai Mala Buni of Yobe State; Governor Muhammad Yahaya of Gombe State; Governor Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State, former Minister of Agriculture, Audu Ogbeh; and former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Dimeji Bankole.

The presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu, has said that in selecting Senator Kashim Shettima, he committed himself to a pragmatic approach to leadership, one which the nation is in dire need of at this moment in history. 

According to the former Lagos State governor, picking Shettima was a hard choice, nevertheless, it is for him the best choice for a Vice President. At the unveiling of his running mate on Wednesday, Asiwaju Tinubu stated that politics ends where leadership begins and as such, true leadership must not be shrouded in religion. “This chapter in our nation’s history demands a bold yet pragmatic approach. In selecting Senator Shettima I have committed myself to this path.

“I have made the hard choice because I believe it is the best choice. “This is where politics must end and leadership must begin. “True Leadership is not grounded in religious pandering, populism or sentiment. “To forge ahead as a nation toward development and prosperity, we must, instead, break the shackles of old thinking.

“Together, we shall build this party and this nation,” the APC Chieftain assured Nigerians.

President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday presided over a National Security Council meeting at the Council Chamber within the Aso villa in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). The meeting comes two weeks after a similar meeting held against the backdrop of the attack on Kuje Correctional facility.

Those in attendance at the meeting today include – Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha; the Chief of Staff to the President, Professor Ibrahim Gambari and the National Security Adviser (NSA), Major General Babagana Monguno (rtd); Chief of Defence Staff, General Lucky Irabor; Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Farouk Yahaya; Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Awwal Gambo; and the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Isiaka Oladayo Amao.

Also in attendance were the Inspector-General of Police, Alkali Baba Usman; the Director-General of the Department of State Service (DSS), Yusuf Bichi; and the Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Ahmed Rufai Abu, among other top security chiefs.

Thursday’s Security Council meeting comes a few hours after President Buhari condemned the murder of a Catholic priest, Reverend Father John Cheitnum of the Kafanchan Catholic Diocese.

The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) says the restoration of the national grid has been completed following its collapse on Wednesday.

TCN in a statement by its General Manager, Ndidi Mbah, said the national grid experienced system disturbance at about 11.27am on Wednesday, 20th, July 2022, adding that the incident was a result of sudden drop in system frequency from 49.94Hz to 47.36Hz, which created system instability. According to reports obtained from the National Control Centre (NCC), it was precipitated by the tripping of a Unit (with a load of 106 MW) in one of the generating stations due to “Exhaust over Temperature”.

Ms Mbah said this unwholesome event, which pulled out other grid-connected Units in the plant, resulted in aggregated generation loss of 457MW. In its wake, a train of events ensued – culminating in the collapse of the national grid. She further noted that “as obtainable in all systems, when a component of the electric power system is defective, the entire configuration is vitiated. However, inspite of setbacks encountered at the initial stage, grid restoration had almost been completed as at 11:00pm when this report was filed.”

While appreciating the kind understanding of Government and consumers of electricity within and outside the country, the GM said the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry is committed to leveraging the concerted interventions instituted thus far to enhance power supply reliability so that the issue of system collapse will soon become a thing of the past.