ABUJA AMEBO'S BLOG

Senegal became the fifth African country to be eliminated from the 2026 FIFA World Cup after suffering a 3-2 defeat to Belgium in their Round of 32 clash on Wednesday. Belgium, who had trailed 2-0 with four minutes of normal time remaining, advanced to the last 16 thanks to a Youri Tielemans penalty in the fifth minute of stoppage time at the end of extra-time. Also on Wednesday, the Democratic Republic of the Congo were eliminated from the 2026 FIFA World Cup after suffering a 2-1 defeat to England. The Leopards looked set for a major upset when Brian Cipenga fired them into an early lead, beating England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford at his near post. However, England fought back through Harry Kane. Although the Bayern Munich striker was denied a controversial penalty, he scored two brilliant goals to complete the comeback and send the Three Lions into the Round of 16. England will now face co-hosts Mexico for a place in the quarter-finals. . Full list of African teams elimina...

Timipre Sylva lAccused admitted to N5m bail each By Ikechukwu Nnochiri ABUJA — The Department of State Services, DSS, yesterday, arraigned five alleged associates of a former governor of Bayelsa State, Timipre Sylva, for concealing his whereabouts after he was implicated as a financier of an alleged plot to overthrow the administration of President Bola Tinubu through a coup d’état. Sylva, who also served as Minister of State for Petroleum Resources under the late former President Muhammadu Buhari, was said to be at large after escaping from the country before the alleged coup plot was leaked. He had since been declared wanted by the Federal Government, which has also moved to confiscate some of his identified properties. Those arraigned before the court for failing to disclose his whereabouts are Reuben Ayuba, Musa Mohammed, Friday Paul, Paganengigha Anagaha and Ayebaifife Suobite. The defendants pleaded not guilty to a two-count charge that was read to them before trial Ju...

By Johnbosco Agbakwuru ABUJA— PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu has said as part of the reform of the National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, corps members would now be deployed to security-challenged states, guided by risk assessment. He also reiterated that the scheme would be led by a civilian director-general and not military personnel as it was in the past. The President equally said NYSC orientation programme would now become a six-week journey and that every corps member must leave NYSC better prepared for work, enterprise and national service. Recall that the Minister of Youth Development, Ayodele Olawande, and Special Adviser to the President on Policy and Coordination, Hadiza Bala Usman, had after the Federal Executive Council, FEC, meeting on Monday briefed journalists on the approved consequential reforms of NYSC scheme, established in 1973. President Tinubu, on X account, Bola Ahmed Tinubu @ABAT, yesterday, said his administration was strengthening governance, standards and the ...

***Suswam was sacrificed to please Akume —Sources ***Party moves to resolve tickets crises By Clifford Ndujihe and Omeiza Ajayi APART from the report of the Primary Election Appeal Committee, Vanguard gathered, yesterday, ‘concrete’ reasons the National Working Committee, NWC, of the All Progressives Congress, APC, dropped former Benue State governor, Senator Gabriel Suswam; former Ondo State House of Representatives member, Gbenga Elegbeleye and 23 other National Assembly candidates. Five senatorial candidates and 19 House of Representatives candidates, who had emerged victorious in the party’s primary elections held in May were also dropped and replaced in the final lists. The states affected include Kogi, Abia, Benue, Taraba, Ondo, Niger, Kwara, Kaduna and Ebonyi. The lists were forwarded to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, via a letter signed by both APC National Chairman and National Secretary, Nentawe Yilwatda and Ajibola Basiru, respectively. The par...

Hands over N53bn worth of seized drugs, expired pharmaceuticals to NDLEA, NAFDAC By Efe Onodjae The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has uncovered an attempt to smuggle unregistered pharmaceutical products into Nigeria using a fake registration number of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC). The Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adeniyi, disclosed this yesterday during the handover of seized narcotic drugs and expired pharmaceutical products worth N53.4 billion to the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) and NAFDAC at the Apapa Area Command. According to Adeniyi, one of the intercepted shipments contained 1,100 packages of CHACOLD Chlorpheniramine Maleate Capsules bearing a fake NAFDAC registration number and fraudulent documentation designed to give the impression that the products had been duly approved. He explained that although the consignment initially appeared legitimate, detailed verification confirmed that the medicines w...

By Providence Ayanfeoluwa The Africa Association of Professional Freight Forwarders and Logistics of Nigeria (APFFLON) has challenged the Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, to translate recent assurances on electricity sector reforms into visible improvements in power supply. The group maintained that Nigerians can no longer afford the economic consequences of persistent electricity failures. In a statement signed by its National President, Otunba Frank Ogunojemite, on Tuesday, APFFLON described the electricity crisis as one of the biggest impediments to Nigeria’s economic growth, industrialisation and investment drive. According to him, no nation can build a globally competitive economy while grappling with chronic power shortages. He stated: “No nation can build a globally competitive economy while operating in darkness. Stable electricity is not a luxury—it is the foundation upon which industries grow, investors gain confidence, jobs are created and businesses flourish. “The c...