Headlines
Super League Collapses as Premier League Clubs Pull Out
The proposed European Super League collapsed on Tuesday after Premier League clubs withdrew from the deeply divisive project following a furious backlash by fans and threats from football authorities.
Manchester City, Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea, Tottenham and Arsenal were six of the 12 leading clubs to initially sign up to the breakaway competition designed to guarantee spots each year and billions of dollars for founding members.
But reaction to the plans has been scathing, with politicians and football chiefs threatening to take legal action against the so-called “dirty dozen”, who were told they faced potential bans from domestic and continental competitions.
United, Liverpool, Arsenal and Tottenham joined City in withdrawing from the ill-fated European Super League (ESL), with Chelsea reportedly set to follow — just 48 hours after the project was announced.
That leaves just six sides — Real Madrid, Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, AC Milan, Inter Milan and Juventus still involved.
City were the first club to announce their withdrawal.
“Manchester City Football Club can confirm that it has formally enacted the procedures to withdraw from the group developing plans for a European Super League,” the club said in a brief statement.
The English Football Association said it welcomed moves by clubs to abandon plans for the Super League, praising fans for “their influential and unequivocal voice”.
Reigning European champions Bayern Munich and French giants Paris Saint-Germain both came out strongly opposed to the breakaway league.
Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson tweeted a statement on behalf of the squad, saying: “We don’t like it and we don’t want it to happen. This is our collective position.”
On a day of intense drama, Manchester United announced that executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward would step down from his role at the end of 2021.
Earlier, Ceferin, addressing the owners, particularly of the Premier League teams involved, said there was still time for clubs to pull out.
“Some will say it is greed, some complete ignorance of England’s football culture,” he said. “There’s still time to change your mind. Everyone makes mistakes.”
“It is our task to protect the European sport model, so if some elect to go their own way then they must live with the consequences of their choices,” Infantino said at UEFA’s congress in Switzerland.
– Chelsea protest –
More than 1,000 fans gathered outside Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge stadium to protest against the plan before Tuesday’s Premier League match against Brighton, which ended in a 0-0 draw.
Fans held up signs reading: “RIP Football 1863 – 2021”, “Created by the poor, stolen by the rich”, “We want our cold nights in Stoke” and “Roman do the right thing” — in reference to Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich.
Speaking after reports emerged that Chelsea were going to pull out, supporter Tom Cunningham said he was “over the moon”.
“Greed has not prospered,” he said. “We are here, we’re the people, multiple fans, standing against disgusting greed and we’ve triumphed.”
British Prime Minster Boris Johnson earlier met Premier League clubs, the FA and fan groups, vowing to do all in his power to kill the ESL plan.
The 20-team ESL was designed by the European giants to guarantee revenue from regular matches against one another without the risk of failing to qualify for 15 founder members.
– ‘It’s not a sport’ -However, the plan was fiercely criticised by even their own players and managers for acting as a closed shop.
“It’s not a sport when the relation between effort and reward doesn’t exist,” said Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola.
“It’s not a sport when success is already guaranteed, it’s not a sport if it doesn’t matter if you lose.”
The 12 teams had signed up to share in an initial pot of more than 3.5 billion euros ($4.2 billion) — vastly boosting their revenues, which have been badly hit during the coronavirus pandemic.
Under the proposals, announced late Sunday, five more clubs would have had to qualify for the 20-team midweek competition, joining the 15 permanent members.
The breakaway announcement came just hours before UEFA announced a new, 36-team format for the Champions League, which had been conceived to placate the continent’s biggest clubs.
AFP
The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), on Thursday, published a list of 9, 532 alleged land title debtors in Abuja, giving them a two-week ultimatum to settle their outstanding bills.
The list, which includes prominent individuals and government agencies, was published on November 26, with defaulters expected to pay for their certificate of occupancy (C-of- O) within the stipulated timeframe.
Among those listed as defaulters is former Head of State, Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida (IBB), who owes N152 million for a plot of land in Asokoro, a highbrow area in the nation’s capital. IBB, who ruled Nigeria from 1985 to 1993, is not the only high-profile individual on the list.
Other notable defaulters include Samuel Ortom, former governor of Benue, who owes N950,000 for a plot of land in Bazango, and Aminu Tambuwal, senator representing Sokoto south, who owes N18 million for a plot of land in Carraway Dallas.
The FCTA has threatened to revoke the land titles of defaulters who fail to settle their bills within the stipulated timeframe. The administration has urged defaulters to settle their bills by e-payment to the “FCT department of land administration” account.
In addition to individual defaulters, some federal agencies, including the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), the navy, and police, were also named as defaulters.
The Lagos governor’s lodge in Asokoro, the Kaduna state government, and ‘State House Abuja’ were also listed as land title debtors.
This development is not the first time the FCTA has taken steps to recover outstanding debts from landowners. In June this year, the administration set up a committee to recover over N29 billion owed by property owners.
The committee has since identified 430 individuals and organisations as defaulters, with plans to prosecute them.
The FCTA has also partnered with anti-graft agencies, including the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), to check the activities of land grabbers in the territory.
The Senate has granted approval to the ₦1.77 trillion ($2.2b) loan request of President Bola Tinubu after a voice vote in favor of the request.
The Senate presided by Deputy Senate President, Barau Jibrin, approved the loan after the Senate Committee on Local and Foreign Debts chaired by Senator Wammako Magatarkada (APC, Sokoto North) presented the report of the committee.
The request which was submitted by the President on Tuesday is part of a fresh external borrowing plan to partially finance the N9.7 trillion budget deficit for the 2024 fiscal year.
Tinubu had on Tuesday written to the National Assembly, seeking approval of a fresh N1.767 trillion, the equivalent of $2.209 billion as a new external borrowing plan in the 2024 Appropriation Act.
The fresh loan is expected to stretch the amount spent on debt servicing by the Federal Government. The Central Bank of Nigeria recently said that it cost the Federal Government $3.58 billion to service foreign debt in the first nine months of 2024.
The CBN report on international payment statistics showed that the amount represents a 39.77 per cent increase from the $2.56bn spent during the same period in 2023.
According to the report, while the highest monthly debt servicing payment in 2024 occurred in May, amounting to $854.37m, the highest monthly expenditure in 2023 was $641.70m, recorded in July.
The trend in foreign debt servicing by the CBN highlights the rising cost of debt obligations by Nigeria.
Further breakdown of international debt figures showed that in January 2024, debt servicing costs surged by 398.89 per cent, rising to $560.52m from $112.35m in January 2023. February, however, saw a slight decline of 1.84 per cent, with payments reducing from $288.54m in 2023 to $283.22m in 2024.
March recorded a 31.04 per cent drop in payments, falling to $276.17m from $400.47m in the same period last year. April saw a significant rise of 131.77 per cent, with $215.20m paid in 2024 compared to $92.85m in 2023.
The highest debt servicing payment occurred in May 2024, when $854.37m was spent, reflecting a 286.52 per cent increase compared to $221.05m in May 2023. June, on the other hand, saw a 6.51 per cent decline, with $50.82m paid in 2024, down from $54.36m in 2023.
July 2024 recorded a 15.48 per cent reduction, with payments dropping to $542.50m from $641.70m in July 2023. In August, there was another decline of 9.69 per cent, as $279.95m was paid compared to $309.96m in 2023. However, September 2024 saw a 17.49 per cent increase, with payments rising to $515.81m from $439.06m in the same month last year.
Given rising exchange rates, the data raises concerns about the growing pressure of Nigeria’s foreign debt obligations.
Channels TV
Self acclaimed leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Simon Ekpa, has been arrested by law enforcement in Finland.
The BBC reports that Ekpa was subsequently sent to prison by the district court of Päijät-Häme for “spreading terrorist propaganda on social media”.
Ekpa was said to have committed the crime in 2021 in Lahti municipality.
The Finnish National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) also arrested four other men over alleged terrorist offences.
A citizen of Finland and Nigeria, Ekpa has described himself as leader of the separatist IPOB group since Nnamdi Kanu’s incarceration.
Finnish police say Ekpa’s activities and social media rhetoric may have fanned the flames of violence in the south-east of Nigeria.
“He carries out these activities from his social media channels, for example,” said Otto Hiltunen, detective chief inspector of the NBI.
In February 2023, Ekpa was arrested by police at his residence in Lahti but was released after hours of questioning.
Using his social media channels, Ekpa had directed Igbos not to participate in Nigeria’s 2023 general election.
In September 2021, the Biafra agitator and secessionist denounced Nigeria and vowed to return the medal he won for the country at the 2003 African Junior Athletics Championships.
