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Saudi Arabia Stuns Argentina in World Cup Opener, Declares Public Holiday

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Saudi Arabia have declared a national holiday following their shock 2-1 win over tournament favourites Argentina in their Group C opener at the Lusail Stadium on Tuesday, at the ongoing 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

The fifth game of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar produced one of the biggest shocks in the competition’s history as the Saudis stunned their more illustrious foes.

The South Americans were one of the huge favourites ahead of the tournament following a 36-game unbeaten run, while Saudi Arabia were the lowest ranked in 51st place.

But a stunning second-half comeback from Herve Renard’s side left Lionel Messi and co humbled in their first game at the Middle East showpiece.

The huge win, instantly hailed as the best in Saudi Arabia’s history, has provoked the country’s ruler King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud to designate Wednesday (today) as a national holiday.

A tweet from the Saudi Press Agency said the day would be “a holiday for all employees in all government sectors and private sector, and students in all educational stages.”

Saudi Arabia have not progressed beyond the World Cup’s group stage since doing so on their tournament debut in the United States in 1994, but Herve Renard’s men could now take a huge step towards replicating that feat when they face Poland on Saturday.

Meanwhile, Nigerian stars Ahmed Musa and Odion Ighalo have congratulated the Saudi Arabian team following the huge win.

While Ighalo currently plays in the Saudi Pro League with Al Hilal, Super Eagles captain Musa had two successful seasons with Al Nasar, where he won the Saudi Professional League and Super Cup in 2019.

Following the famous win over Argentina, both players took to social media to congratulate Renard’s side.

“Congratulations Saudi Arabia,” Ighalo wrote on his official Instagram account.

On his Twitter page, Musa also wrote, “Congratulations to my Saudi Arabia Fans.”

Both sides are in action again on Saturday, with Argentina taking on rivals Mexico and Saudi Arabia facing Poland.

Poland and Mexico played out a goalless stalemate on Tuesday, thus ensuring the Saudis lead Group C with three points, while the Polish and Mexicans are joint second. The argentines occupy bottom place.

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Amid Court Ruling, Fubara Set to Present 2025 Budget to Oko-Jumbo Assembly

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Rivers State governor, Siminalayi Fubara, has announced that he would present the 2025 budget to the Victor Oko-Jombo-led State House of Assembly.

The governor noted that the government would continue to collaborate with the Assembly to improve the lives of Rivers residents, highlighting the positive relationship between the executive and legislative arms of government, as demonstrated in the screening of nominees and the prompt passage of executive bills.

Fubara said this at the official unveiling of two ultra-modern community town halls and the launch of a tertiary scholarship and empowerment programme by the Speaker at Akiama and Aganya communities in Bonny Local Government Area on Saturday.

This was contained in a statement issued in Port Harcourt on Sunday by the governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Nelson Chukwudi.

Represented by the Chief of Staff, Government House, Edison Ehie, the governor said: “The government and the people of Rivers State heartily congratulate you and thank you for being a good ambassador of the Ibani Kingdom. We assure you that, as the executive arm, while the legislative arm remains independent, we will continue to collaborate to ensure prosperity for our people.

“I thank you, Mr Speaker, for your support to the Rivers State government, as seen in your cooperation. The Speaker has facilitated the screening of caretaker committee chairmen, expedited executive requests, and will soon play a vital role in enacting the 2025 budget.”

Fubara added that the Speaker’s focus on constituency projects reflects his role as an elected representative, contrasting it with the inaction of 25 former lawmakers he described as “Abuja-based politicians.”

He continued: “Constituency projects are a testament to elected representatives’ commitment to their people. Meanwhile, the 25 former Assembly members who dismissed themselves — have they initiated any projects? Do we see them inspecting or commissioning anything? These are Abuja-based politicians!”

The governor commended the Speaker for establishing the town halls, providing financial empowerment to 100 Bonny indigenes, and awarding tertiary scholarships to 30 Bonny students.

In his remarks, the Speaker thanked the people of Bonny for their support for the 10th Assembly and expressed confidence in his backing of the governor.

He stressed that the Assembly would stay focused despite opposition from “enemies of the state” or the 25 former members.

Oko-Jombo revealed that the 2025 budget would soon be presented to the 10th Assembly and confirmed that Bonny Local Government Area would be included in upcoming infrastructure projects.

He added: “We will continue working tirelessly to ensure Bonny Kingdom’s development. Many needs remain, but as the Speaker, I assure you that the 2025 budget, which will soon be presented by His Excellency, will include Bonny Local Government Area.”

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Endure a Little Bit More, FG Tells Nigerians Amid Hardship

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The Federal government, on Thursday, said it appreciates the endurance of Nigerians on side effects of economic reforms, which it says have started yielding results.

The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, stated this during an interactive session with the Senate Committee on Finance.

According to him, teething problems from the reforms are over for Nigerians as positive indicators for better days are already emerging.

“The two critical reforms on market-based price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) and foreign exchange, are now at the stage of results delivery and by extension, viability of the Nation’s economy through restoration of fiscal viability,” he stated.

“These two pillars of the economic reforms that have taken positive shape now portends additional revenue for government, recovery of the finances of NNPCL and strong  basis for growing the economy, in terms of attracting investment and creating of jobs.

“I think we need to commend Nigerians for staying the cause to  this stage of getting  benefits.”

On his part, the Chairman of the Committee, Senator Sani Musa, said the session was a fact finding one on workability or otherwise of the various reforms.

“Today we gather to deliberate on the pressing matters related to the sales of crude oil to domestic refineries in Nigeria, in Naira and its implication on the approved medium-term expenditure framework and fiscal strategy paper for 2024-2026 and what we should expect for 2025-2027.

“Additionally, we will examine shortfalls in NMPCL revenue remittances, focusing on key areas such as foreign and domestic excess crude accounts, the signature bonus accounts, NMPCL cash call account and any outstanding or remitted revenue linked to under-recoveries.

“This meeting underscores our commitment to transparency, accountability and the responsible management of our national resources.

“I am confident that with the collaboration of the Ministry of Finance under the able leadership of the coordinating Minister of the Economy, the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation, the Central Bank of Nigeria and Revenue Mobilization and Physical Commission and other critical stakeholders present here, we will identify solutions and ensure that due process are upheld for the benefit of our economy and the Nigerian people.”

Aside the Finance Minister, the Group Executive Officer (GCEO) of Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC), Mele Kyari, the Director General of Nigeria Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Gbenga Komolafe, representatives of Governor of the Central Bank also attended the session which was later joined by the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio while in closed door.

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Again, National Grid Collapses, Second Time in Three Days

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The national power grid has collapsed for the second time in three days, leading to blackouts in several parts of the country.

A check on the Nigerian System Operator’s portal (niggrid.org) showed that power generation dropped to zero megawatts at 11:30 am, affecting all 22 generation companies across the country.

Several electricity distribution companies corroborated this on their social media platforms.

“Please be informed that we experienced a system outage today 07 November 2024 at 11:29Hrs affecting supply within our network,” the Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC) serving parts of Lagos wrote on X.

“Restoration of supply is ongoing in collaboration with our critical stakeholders.
Kindly bear with us.

Meanwhile, Electricity Distribution Companies (DisCos) have jerked up metre prices, a few months after a similar increase.

The new price regime became effective on November 5, 2024, according to posts on social media platforms of the various DisCos.

With the recent move, the price of a single-phase metre has jumped from around N117,000 to about N149,800. This is dependent on the DisCo and the metre vendor.

A check by Channels Television indicated that the Eko DisCo put the price of its single-phase metre between N135,987.5 and N161,035 and pegged that of a three-phase meter between N226,600 and N266,600.

On its part, the Ibadan DisCo told its customers to pay from a range of N130,998 and N142,548 for a single-phase metre and N226,556.25 – N232,008 for a three-phase metre.

The Abuja DisCo said the price range for a single-phase metre is from N123,130.53–N147,812.5 and N206,345.65–N236,500 for three-phase metres.

Similarly, the Kano Electricity Distribution put N127,925–N129,999 as the price range for a single-phase metre while three-phase metres cost between N223,793–N235,425.

The Kaduna DisCo put its price for a single-phase metre between N131,150 and N142,548.94 and N220,375—N232,008.04 for three-phase metres.

This recent move came months after the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) announced the deregulation of metre prices under the Meter Asset Provider (MAP) scheme for end-user customers.

It said this is to address the protracted issues around metre supply and pricing within the sector.

With the development, DisCos and metre vendors can now fix prices based on the economic realities in the country, helping investors recover their money and ensuring the availability of the metres.

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