Voice of the people

 BREAKING: Nigeria qualify for U17 AFCON By Babajide Razak  Nigeria finished in third place to scoop the bronze medals and book a place at next year’s Africa U17 Cup of Nations after a hard-fought 3-2 defeat of hosts Ghana at the WAFU B U17 Championship on Tuesday. For several days now, there had been opacity around the number of teams that would proceed to the 2025 Africa U17 Cup of Nations from the tournament in Ghana, but the window opened for the third-place winner here when, minutes to kick-off, Cote d’Ivoire (already in the competition final), was designated as hosts of next year’s continental finals. With Cote d’Ivoire as hosts and guaranteed a slot, Burkina Faso (no matter the result of the final match) and the third-place winner in the earlier game of the final day, were assured of berths in Abidjan. Congratulations Nigeria , Congratulations Golden Eaglet  Source: NFF.

  FG ENDORSES GROUNDBREAKING CLEAN COOKSTOVES PROJECT IN NIGERIA ... GreenPlinth Africa, Partners To Deploy 80 Million FREE Cookstoves Nationwide  ... Set to Plant 4 Billion Economic Trees Across The Nation In a landmark move towards sustainable development and environmental conservation, the Federal Government of Nigeria through the National Council on Climate Change has officially endorsed a revolutionary initiative aimed at addressing global climate crisis, environmental challenges and improving livelihoods across the nation. Under the auspices of Greenplinth Africa, in collaboration with strategic partners, an ambitious Article 6.4 project has been launched to distribute 80 million clean cookstoves free of charge to households throughout Nigeria. This initiative, the largest single clean cooking systems project in the world, marks a significant step forward in combatting the adverse health and environmental impacts associated with traditional cooking methods, such as indoor air pol

RIVERS STATE HIGH COURT GIVES INTERIM ORDER   The Rivers State High Court has given a temporary order to stop the Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly loyal to Wike, Martin Amaewhule, and 24 others from parading as assembly members. The case has been postponed until May 29th . The court also prohibited Martin Amaewhule from convening plenary at the assembly premises.

 NFF APPOINTS FINIDI GEORGE AS HEAD COACH FOR SUPER EAGLES  Sports news  The Board of Nigeria Football Federation on Monday approved the recommendation of its Technical and Development Committee to appoint former ace winger Finidi George as Head Coach of the Senior Men National Football Team, Super Eagles. George, who spent 20 months as assistant to José Santos Peseiro before the Portuguese voluntarily left the post following the accomplishment of Africa Cup of Nations runner-up position at Cote d’Ivoire 2023, took charge of the squad in interim capacity during two friendly matches in Morocco last month. His squad edged Ghana 2-1 in the first match, ending an 18-year winless streak against the Black Stars, but then lost 0-2 to Mali in the second game. George, a member of the so-styled ‘Golden Generation’ that won the 1994 Africa Cup of Nations tournament in Tunisia and emerged the second most entertaining team in Nigeria’s debut at the FIFA World Cup finals in USA the same year, won 62

BREAKING: Ondo State Gov. Aiyedatiwa’s Campaign Coordinator Assassinated By Babajide Razak Dada Alaba Excel Abbey, one of the campaign coordinators of incumbent Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa of Ondo state, has been assassinated. Mr Abbey, who served as a ward coordinator for the Lucky Aiyedatiwa Campaign Organization Foot-Soldiers (LACO-SF), was killed at his home in Supare Akoko, Akoko South West Local Government Area. According to news on social media  the deceased was the returning officer for the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ward 10 in the recently concluded primary of the governing party. A younger brother to the deceased, Mr Samuel Abbey, who confirmed the sad development, revealed that the politician was shot at the front of his house. Meanwhile, the Lucky Aiyedatiwa Campaign Organization Foot-Soldiers (LACO-SF) has condemned the gruesome murder of Mr Abbey. The group also called on the security agencies, most especially the police authorities to protect its members from such

 FORMER AVIATION MINISTER ARRESTED BY EFCC  Former Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, has been arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over an ongoing N8,069,176,864.00 money laundering investigation. Sirika arrived at the EFCC’s Federal Capital Territory Command in Abuja around 1:00 pm on Tuesday to meet with investigators. The arrest comes after allegations of fraudulent contracts awarded by Sirika to Engirios Nigeria Limited, a company owned by his younger brother, Abubakar Sirika. Impeccable sources within the anti-graft agency, speaking on the condition of anonymity, confirmed that the ex-minister is being questioned regarding the alleged N8.07 billion aviation ministry contract fraud. According to the EFCC, the aviation ministry contracts were reportedly awarded in collaboration with Sirika’s younger brother, Abubakar Sirika, who serves as a civil servant in the Federal Ministry of Water Resources. Abubakar Sirika, also the Managing Director and CEO of Eng

  COURT GIVES TEMPORARY RELIEF TO ABDULLAHI GANDUJE  Orders status quo to be maintained  By Dada Babajide Razak  A Federal High Court in Kano has halted the suspension of the national chairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje. The ruling came on Wednesday after Ganduje filed an ex parte motion seeking to enforce his fundamental right to fair hearing. On April 16, APC executives in Dawakin Ward, Tofa LGA of Kano State, suspended Ganduje over alleged corruption. However, the State Working Committee, SWC, of the APC in Kano nullified the suspension and punished the ward executives but a Kano High Court presided by Justice Usman Na’Abba upheld the suspension. In the ex parte order delivered on Wednesday by the Federal High Court and made available to newsmen on Thursday, a Kano High Court presided by Justice A. M Liman ruled that the suspension should not be implemented until the case filed by Ganduje is heard and determined. “All the respondents, their servant