Author: Opalim Lifted

Kevin de Bruyne signed off from his last home game for Manchester City on a high, as they beat Bournemouth to close in on a place in the Champions League next season – and both sides finished with 10 men. City were stunned by Crystal Palace in Saturday’s FA Cup final and desperately needed victory against the Cherries to help ensure they finish in the Premier League’s top five in an otherwise miserable season. Pep Guardiola’s men are now third, in a strong position heading into Sunday’s last game of the season at Fulham, where a point should be enough…

In a decisive move to usher in a new era of leadership, the Ijaw diaspora council (IDC) has named Professor Nimi Wariboko as its new President Worldwide, following the conclusion of an intensive global search by the Presidential search and appointment committee. The committee, originally comprising 12 distinguished members and later reduced to 10, worked under tight deadlines after the dissolution of the current IDC Executive Council was announced to take effect from 24 May 2025. Despite initial concerns over a potential leadership vacuum, the committee was met with overwhelming interest: three exceptional candidates vied for the presidency, while eight…

Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, has declared that all governors in Nigeria’s southeast geopolitical zone, regardless of party affiliation, are united in their support for President Bola Tinubu. In a statement released by Bayo Onanuga, the president’s special adviser on information and strategy, Umahi made the comments during a feature interview for an upcoming State House documentary marking Tinubu’s second year in office. According to Umahi, the region is experiencing an unprecedented wave of federal attention under Tinubu’s administration, particularly in the area of infrastructure development. “The Igbo man is enterprising and blessed with God-given wisdom. What Ndi Igbo seek…

A shocking case unfolding in northern Nigeria has ignited national and international outrage. Zainab Muhamadu, a 22-year-old woman from Zamfara State, is facing a potential death sentence for leaving Islam and embracing Christianity—a move that has triggered a controversial apostasy trial under Sharia law. Her story began with an unexpected encounter. During his National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) posting, Pastor Samuel was assigned to her community. Known for his compassion and integrity, Samuel formed a genuine bond with Zainab, sharing his Christian beliefs and treating her with respect and kindness. Their connection eventually deepened into a shared spiritual journey, culminating…

Spain has clinched hosting rights for the 2027 UEFA Champions League final, with the showpiece set to take place at Atlético Madrid’s Metropolitano Stadium, Sports Minister Pilar Alegría confirmed on Tuesday. The decision marks a major win for Spanish football, bringing one of Europe’s most prestigious sporting events back to Madrid. It will be the second time the Metropolitano, which opened in 2017, hosts the final, following its successful staging in 2019 when Liverpool triumphed over Tottenham. “Spain is ready to welcome the world’s football fans once again,” Alegría said, celebrating UEFA’s nod to the nation’s world-class infrastructure and fan…

Leicester City have been referred to an independent commission by the Premier League for an alleged breach of EFL financial rules during the 2023-24 Championship season. The club could be punished with a possible points deduction and fine, although it is not clear at this stage when, what or how that will be applied. At the centre of the tribunal decision were two contrasting decisions. The tribunal upheld a decision that the Premier League could not punish the Foxes for breaching Premier League profit and sustainability (PSR) rules for the 2022-23 season as the club had been relegated from the…

Former Spain and Liverpool goalkeeper Pepe Reina will retire from football at the end of the season, he said on Monday. The 42-year-old goalkeeper, a product of Barcelona’s academy, spent eight seasons at Liverpool where he won the FA Cup and League Cup while also earning the Premier League Golden Glove award for most clean sheets in his first three seasons with the club. He went on to play for Bayern Munich, Napoli and AC Milan before signing for Como in July last year, making 11 appearances in the current Serie A campaign. “A very beautiful career is coming to…

Bismarck Rewane, managing director of Financial Derivatives Company, has questioned the credibility of the latest consumer price index (CPI) released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). The bureau had said Nigeria’s headline inflation rate slightly dropped to 23.71 percent in April 2025 – down from 24.23 percent in March. Commenting on the figure, Rewane said the NBS result shows that some food-producing states are experiencing high inflation rates, while major consuming states have significantly lower rates. The MD Financial Derivatives Company said the data might be as flawed as the 2025 Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) exam scandal,…

Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, senator representing Kogi central, has petitioned the inspector-general of police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, alleging that Godswill Akpabio, the senate president, is behind “a coordinated smear campaign” aimed at tarnishing her reputation. In a letter dated May 15 and titled ‘Petition Against Coordinated Defamation and Cyberbullying by Sponsored Syndicate at the Behest of the President of the Senate – Godswill Akpabio,’ the lawmaker accused Akpabio of “deploying media proxies to publish false and damaging stories” about her. Akpoti-Uduaghan cited several online platforms which simultaneously published articles on May 10 accusing her of sponsoring terrorism, orchestrating killings in Kogi central,…

The Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) has partnered with the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) to launch a data verification service to ease doing business. The Registrar General of the CAC, Ishaq Magaji, said that what is unveiled is an Application Programming Interface (API) integration of the systems of a few carefully selected private sector organisations (Super Agents) with the system of the Commission. Magaji explained that the integration will enable the super agents to retrieve data from the commission’s database at a fee, modify or transform the data into a specific type of information desired by the super agent’s client,…