Author: David Great

The National Bureau of Statistics has disclosed that the nation’s capital importation rose by 210% in the first quarter of 2024. The report, which was released on Monday, noted that the total importation into the country stood at $3,376.01 million, higher than $1,132.65m recorded in Q1 2023 thereby indicating an increase of 198.06%. When compared to Q4 last year, the national importation value rose by 210.16% from $1,088.48m. This, the bureau said, owes to the high Portfolio Investment valued at “$2,075.59m, accounting for 61.48%; followed by Other Investment with $1,181.25m, accounting for 34.99%. Foreign Direct Investment recorded the least with…

Third seed Aryna Sabalenka pulled out of Wimbledon shortly before her opening match on Monday due to a shoulder injury, organisers said, leaving the women’s draw short of a leading contender for the title. The Belarusian, who was set to face American Emina Bektas, was replaced in the draw by Russian lucky loser Erika Andreeva. “I tried everything to get myself ready but unfortunately my shoulder is not cooperating,” Sabalenka said on Instagram. “I pushed myself to the limit in practice today to try my best, but my team explained that playing would only make things much worse,” she added.…

Georgia’s goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili expects Spain to go on to win the ongoing EURO 2024 championship after a classy display on Sunday. A 4-1 loss to Spain ended Georgia’s maiden participation in a major finals at the round of 16 stage. The Spaniards went behind due to an own goal in the 18th minute but never lost their composure, cantering into the quarter-finals thanks to goals from Rodri, Fabian Ruiz, Nico Williams and Dani Olmo. “I think Spain are the favourites for this tournament and they will become champions. It’s a pity that we met this team, but it’s okay,…

Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally (RN) party made unprecedented gains in France’s first legislative election round. Still, the final result will be determined by days of alliance-building before next week’s runoff vote. The RN and its allies received 33% of the vote, followed by a leftwing alliance with 28% and President Emmanuel Macron’s centrists with only 20%, according to official interior ministry results released on Monday. The election results was a major loss for Macron, who called the quick election after his party was defeated by the RN in European Parliament elections last month. However, whether the anti-immigrant, eurosceptic…

Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea and West Ham will battle for the signature of 22-year-old Italy defender Riccardo Calafiori with his transfer fee put at over £40m to sign him from Bologna. (Express) A number of Barcelona’s directors remain unconvinced about the merits of signing Spain’s Euro 2024 star winger Nico Williams, 21, from Athletic Bilbao. (Sport – in Spanish) Brighton have been left frustrated after Chelsea agreed a deal to sign midfielder Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, 25, from Leicester even though the player had undergone a medical with the Seagulls and a fee was agreed between the two clubs. (Telegraph – subscription required) Leicester are close to agreeing a deal to sign 18-year-old midfielder Michael Golding…

The Nigerian movie industry has been thrown into mourning as veteran actor Oludotun Baiyewu Jacobs popularly known as Olu Jacobs has died at age 81. The legendary actor, known for his exceptional talent and contributions to Nollywood, died on the early hours of Sunday, June 30, 2024 after a long battle with an undisclosed illness. Born on July 11, 1942, in Abeokuta, Ogun State, Olu Jacobs studied acting at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London. He began his career in the United Kingdom, where he featured in various British television shows and films before returning to Nigeria in…

Chelsea have also joined Tottenham in the race to sign English midfielder Archie Gray, 18, from Leeds. (Telegraph – subscription required) Manchester City failed in a late move to hijack 22-year-old forward Michael Olise’s move to Bayern Munich from Crystal Palace. (Football Insider) Paris St-Germain will consider making a move for Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford and could step up their pursuit if they receive encouragement that the 26-year-old England international is open to joining them. (Talksport) Chelsea have contacted Leicester City about signing 25-year-old English midfielder Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, who is understood to only want to move to the Blues if he leaves the Foxes. (Athletic – subscription required) Brighton had agreed a swap deal with Leicester City for Dewsbury-Hall…

The executive chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Olanipekun Olukoyede, has disclosed that $ 88.6 billion is lost annually to African illicit financial flows. He stated this in Tunis, Tunisia on Thursday, June 27, 2024, while delivering a keynote address at the Pan-African Conference on Illicit Financial Flows (IFFs) and Taxation. Speaking on the theme “Africa’s Tax Agenda in Combatting Illicit Financial Flows: From Words to Action,”, the EFCC’s boss emphasised the grave challenge posed by Illicit Financial Flows to Africa’s economic stability and development. He noted that over $88.6 billion is illicitly siphoned from the continent…

President Joe Biden’s allies tried on Friday to manage the fallout from his poor performance in the first 2024 US presidential debate, when he struggled to resist an onslaught of assaults and false allegations from Republican competitor Donald Trump. The Biden team anticipated that a robust discussion would allay voters’ concerns that the 81-year-old Democratic incumbent is too old to serve a second four-year term. Instead, Biden’s voice was scratchy, and he stumbled over his sentences at times, particularly early in the discussion. One Biden donor, who asked for anonymity to speak freely about the president, called his performance “disqualifying”…

The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Thursday adjourned the arraignment of the immediate past Governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, till July 17, 2024. Bello is facing a 19-count charge bordering on money laundering, breach of trust and misappropriation of public funds to the tune of about N80.2bn brought against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission. At Thursday’s proceeding, Bello’s lawyer, Adeola Adedipe (SAN), applied to withdraw his appearance for Bello. Adedipe brought the court’s attention to an application before the Chief Judge for transfer of charge no: FHC/ABJ/CR/98/2024 to the Federal High Court, Lokoja, pursuant to…