Author: David Great

Minister of power, Adebayo Adelabu, revealed that Nigeria has a metering gap of over seven million, with only 47% meter penetration. Adelabu disclosed this on Friday during a facility tour of Metering Solutions Manufacturing Services Limited in Onna, Akwa Ibom. The minister, who described the metering deficit as a major challenge, said that the move would lead to improved electricity supply in the country. He expressed displeasure that the metering gap in the country was more than seven million, amounting to about 47 per cent meter penetration. Adelabu urged metering companies in the country to use local content and improve…

Eddie Howe insists he is “very committed” to Newcastle as long as he is backed by the club after being installed as one of the leading contenders to take over as England manager. The English Football Association said on Friday that they have identified a number of candidates to replace Gareth Southgate, who resigned following Sunday’s Euro 2024 final loss to Spain. Howe is among the bookmakers’ top choices, along with former Chelsea bosses Thomas Tuchel, Mauricio Pochettino and Graham Potter. But Newcastle chief executive Darren Eales this week said the Premier League club would fight to keep Howe. And…

The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Edo has accused the state police command of complicity in the attack on its governorship candidate, Senator Monday Okpebholo, and the reinstated deputy governor, Philip Shaibu. Gunmen attacked the two on Thursday while they were leaving Benin Airport shortly after arriving from Abuja on a chartered flight. During a press conference on Friday in Benin, the party called for the removal of Commissioner of Police, Funso Adegboye. Kassim Afegbua, director of media for the APC campaign council for the upcoming September 21 election, stated that the police chief witnessed the ruthless shooting and killing…

Delta Air Lines has delayed its scheduled noon flight from Lagos to Atlanta, US, due to technical issues. The operator announced in a statement on Friday that all its flights were temporarily paused as it worked to resolve a vendor technology problem. Earlier, a massive technical outage struck businesses worldwide, causing disruptions in various sectors, including aviation, finance, healthcare, transportation, and retail. This outage was caused by a problem with Microsoft’s cloud computing services. Officials at Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos said they were awaiting signals from Atlanta, US, to determine when the flight could depart. Global tech outage…

Cesc Fabregas was confirmed on Friday as Como coach as the ambitious club prepare for their first Serie A season in 21 years. “Como 1907 are delighted to confirm that Cesc Fabregas will become head coach of the men’s team on a four-year contract,” said a club statement. Fabregas was assistant to Osian Roberts as Como won automatic promotion to the top flight last season. The Spaniard was also interim coach for a month following the sacking of Roberts’ predecessor Moreno Longo in November, but could not take permanent charge until he got the coaching badges required by European governing…

Manchester United have signed young French defender Leny Yoro from Lille in a five-year deal worth £52.18m, with £6.73m in add-ons. The 18-year-old centre-back has signed until 2029 at Old Trafford, with the option for an additional 12 months. Yoro, who made his Lille debut at the age of 16, had been linked with Real Madrid and Paris St-Germain, while Liverpool were also interested in him. He played 32 times in the league last season and scored two goals as he helped Lille finish fourth and and was named in the Ligue 1 team of the season. “Signing for a…

Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have intercepted another batch of seven containers with 1,229,400 bottles of codeine worth N9, 835,200,000.00. The shipments were seized at the Onne Ports in Port Harcourt, the capital of Rivers State. The seizure comes barely three weeks after 6,125 cartons of codeine syrup worth N7, 350,000,000.00 were intercepted by the NDLEA in Rivers State. A statement on Friday by the NDLEA spokesperson, Femi Babafemi said the latest seizure is the fourth and last set of such consignments that had been under the watch list of the Agency’s Maritime Special Operations Unit…

Barcelona fans have started donating symbolic sums of money to the club’s official TikTok account in an effort to help the La Liga side sign forward Nico Williams. The 22-year-old Athletic Bilbao winger became a prominent transfer target for top European clubs after becoming one of Spain’s most exciting players during its seven-match winning streak at the European Championship. Williams, who scored twice, including the opening goal in Spain’s 2-1 final triumph over England, formed a promising relationship with Barcelona forward Lamine Yamal, who was awarded the tournament’s best young player. Barcelona fans are now eagerly pushing for a Yamal-Williams…

Chelsea are expected to offer England forward Cole Palmer, 22, a mega pay rise following his impressive first season and growing importance to the team. (Telegraph – subscription required) Tottenham are aiming to beat Fulham to the signature of Manchester United’s 27-year-old Scotland midfielder Scott McTominay. (Sun) Fulham want to bring in Brazil midfielder Andre, 23, from Fluminense as they look to replace 29-year-old Portugal international Joao Palhinha following his move to Bayern Munich. (Standard) West Ham are in talks to sign France midfielder N’Golo Kante, 33, from Saudi Pro League club Al-Ittihad in a deal which could cost in the region of £20m. (Guardian) Brentford are expected to reduce…

The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, has projected that the external reserves could reduce slightly in 2024 on the back of debt service and other obligations. This was disclosed in the maiden edition of CBN 2024. Macroeconomic Outlook: Price Discovery for Economic Stabilisation, which was recently released. The outlook said, “The external reserves, which stood at $33.09bn in 2023 could reduce slightly in 2024. This is on the assumption of continued payments of outstanding foreign exchange forward obligations, matured foreign exchange swaps, and debt service. The expected improvement in crude oil earnings, together with recent reforms in the foreign exchange…