Author: Olu Anisere

Canada Football Coach Sent Home From Paris Olympics Over Spy Drone Claims Canada has sent home their women’s Olympic football coach, Bev Priestman, following allegations of drones being used to spy on their opponents. Canada are the women’s Olympic champions from Tokyo 2020 and had already sent home two members of staff on Wednesday. That was after drones were used to spy on a New Zealand practice in France. The Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) said in a statement on Friday it had now removed Priestman from the team due to her suspension by Canada Soccer. “Over the past 24 hours,…

Olympics 2024: Canada Edge New Zealand 2-1 Amid Spying Scandal Defending champions Canada defeated New Zealand 2-1 in their Paris Olympics opening game on Thursday in a match overshadowed by a spying scandal that has engulfed the women’s tournament. Cloe Lacasse and Evelyne Viens scored on a night which might have been a routine group win for Canada, before being pushed into the global spotlight due to a spying scandal. The situation saw manager Bev Priestman sitting out Thursday’s game and two staff members sent home amid allegations of drone use at two New Zealand practice sessions. Assistant Andy Spence…

Super Falcons Lose to Brazil in Paris Olympic Opener Nigeria’s Super Falcons lost their 2024 Paris Olympics Games opener by a lone goal to the Canarinhas of Brazil. The game played on Thursday saw the Women African Cup of Nations (WAFCON) nine-time champions displayed spirited performance but failed to convert their chances. Rasheedat Ajibade led the Falcons to the turf of the Stade Matmut Atlantique, as Nigeria’s flag was flown at the tournament for the first time in 16 years, and truly led from the front with some excellent runs down the left of the South Americans. Her brave run…

Olympics: Bonmati Leads Spain to Comeback Win Over Japan Spain playmaker Aitana Bonmati scored one goal and created another as the world champions came from behind to beat Japan 2-1 in their opening Group C match in the Olympics women’s soccer in Nantes on Thursday. Olympic debutants Spain recovered from going behind to an early goal to avenge a 4-0 group stage loss to the Asians in last year’s World Cup, which they eventually won. Japan opened the scoring in the 13th minute when Aoba Fujino’s superb free kick sailed into the top right corner, with goalkeeper Cata Coll only…

FG Unveils Metering Project Teams to Combat Oil Theft The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has inaugurated Metering Audit and Advance Cargo Declaration project teams, to promote transparency and accountability in the upstream oil and gas. The Commission Chief Executive, Mr Gbenga Komolafe, who spoke at the inauguration of the project teams, on Wednesday in Abuja, said the projects were designed to combat crude oil theft and boost revenue. It will be recalled that the Federal Executive Council (FEC) had approved a 21 million dollars contract to audit metering and measurement equipment in the 187 oil flow stations in…

AEDC, Transafam Power Partner to Deliver 50MW to Abuja Commercial Hub The Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) and the Transafam Power have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to deliver 50 Mega Watts (MW) of embedded power to Idu commercial hub in Abuja. The MoU was signed for the companies by Mr Chijioke Okwuokenye, the Acting Managing Director of AEDC and Mr Vincent Ozoude, the Managing Director of Transafam Power Ltd, in Abuja on Wednesday. Okwuokenye said that the MoU was in fulfillment of of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC)’s requirement for AEDC to provide 82 per cent of embedded…

Wema Bank Wins Awards for Sustainable Finance, Digital Innovation Nigeria’s Tier-2 lender, Wema Bank Plc, has been recognised for its role in sustainable finance and digital innovation, winning three awards at the Digital Banker Global Sustainable Finance Awards Gala 2024. The bank made this known in a statement on Wednesday in Lagos. The awards include Outstanding Sustainable Finance-SME Finance, Best Digital Platform for Sustainable Finance and Sustainable Finance Professional of the Year-Africa. The global award ceremony is dedicated to celebrating the world’s preeminent, groundbreaking and cutting-edge financial service institutions. The awardees must have distinguished their unrivalled standards in incorporating Environmental,…

Moniepoint Calls for Collaboration to Boost Financial Inclusion Fintech company, Moniepoint, has emphasised the need for a collaborative approach between the government and private sector to build trust and drive financial inclusion in Nigeria. A statement by the company on Wednesday, said Tosin Eniolorunda, Group Chief Executive Officer, Moniepoint Inc, made the assertion during a recent high-level policy dialogue between the Nigerian government and private sector stakeholders. Eniolorunda said that this was crucial to expanding access to financial services for underserved populations. The founder of the Moniepoint said that the event, held in Washington DC, brought together government officials, regulators,…

Housing Finance: FMBN Delivers 39,000 New Homes in 31 Years -MD The Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN), says the bank has, within 31 years, delivered 39,000 new homes under the National Housing Fund (NHF) scheme. The bank’s Managing Director/Chief Executive, Mr Shehu Osidi, said this when he presented a paper at the ongoing 18th Africa International Housing Show on Wednesday in Abuja. Osidi said: “Since its re-establishment in 1993, the Bank has delivered about 39,000 new homes, about 25,500 mortgages and over 120,000 micro housing loans, all within a single-digit interest rate lending regime. “Under the National Housing Fund…

NGX Sheds N68bn as Investors Exit Positions Tier-1 Banks The equities market of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) shed more than N68 billion on Wednesday, extending previous day loss as market reacted negatively to interest rate hike. The poor outturn stemmed from selloffs in GTCO (-0.11%), UBA (-5.07%) and FBNH (-1.60%), outweighing the uptick in WAPCO (+0.82%), investment firm CardinalStone Securities limited said in an update. The market index or All-Share Index reduced by 120.95 basis points, representing a decrease of -0.12% to close at 100,365.17, stockbrokers at Atlass Portfolios Limited said. Major downside to today trading session was sell-offs witnessed…