Author: Opalim Lifted

Brian Brobbey and Cody Gakpo scored two goals apiece as the Netherlands cruised past Sweden 5-1 to all but mathematically guarantee a place in the last 32 of the World Cup. Brobbey was a surprise inclusion in their line-up at the expense of Crysencio Summerville who impressed and scored in the 2-2 draw with Japan, but the Sunderland forward took little time in repaying the faith of manager Ronald Koeman. In the fifth minute the Netherlands went from one end of the pitch in just seven touches – Brobbey took down a long ball from goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen, played the…

Uba Sani, governor of Kaduna State and chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) campaign council for the Ekiti governorship election, says the ruling party is targeting at least 500,000 votes for incumbent governor Biodun Oyebanji. Speaking during an interview on Arise Television on Saturday, Sani said the election had so far been peaceful, adding that reports from across the 16 local government areas suggested a smooth and transparent process. He said APC agents, security operatives and electoral officials were working together without major disruptions, describing the conduct of the poll as orderly. Sani expressed confidence that the party would…

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has disclosed that 188 polling units, representing 7.69 percent of the total, experienced delays during Saturday’s Ekiti State governorship election. In a post on its X page, the electoral commission said 2,257 of the state’s 2,445 polling units opened on schedule before 8:30 a.m. INEC added that voting officially ended across polling units at 2:30 p.m., describing the exercise as peaceful and orderly. “Voting has officially ended in most Polling Units across Ekiti State following the close of polls at 2:30 p.m.,” the commission stated. “Earlier in the day, all 2,445 Polling Units were…

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has commenced the upload of polling unit results from the Ekiti governorship election to its Result Viewing Portal (IReV), more than two hours after the close of voting. The electoral commission began uploading results at about 4:10 p.m. on Saturday after concerns were raised over the absence of polling unit results on the portal despite the completion of voting and counting in some locations. Before the uploads commenced, photographs of polling unit result sheets had already begun circulating online among election observers, political parties, and voters. The delay in publishing results on IReV came…

Dare Bejide, governorship candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in the Ekiti governorship election, has alleged vote buying and assault at his polling unit. Bejide spoke while addressing police officers at Ward 2, Ilawe-Ekiti, in Ekiti west LGA of the state. The police team was on patrol as the vote progressed across the state. The ADC chieftain said he had repeatedly alerted security operatives to the alleged distribution of money to voters before the situation escalated. “I have been calling the police for the past two hours,” he said. “There was a crisis here. I alerted the police officer…

Voter accreditation was delayed in parts of Ekiti as the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) encountered difficulties while capturing the biometrics of several elderly persons. Residents of Ekiti in south-west Nigeria are currently voting to elect a governor. At Polling Unit 007 in Ado ‘J’ Okesa, a 90-year-old woman was unable to complete biometric verification because the machine failed to capture her facial image and fingerprints. Similar difficulties were reported in other polling units, where the BVAS repeatedly failed to recognise elderly voters, leading to delays and queues. At Ugele/Arokun Ward 006 in Ikere LGA, BVAS-related difficulties slowed voting, with…

Wole Oluyede, candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the Ekiti governorship election, has alleged voter suppression and harassment of party supporters by security operatives. Oluyede spoke on Saturday after arriving at Polling Unit 6 in Ugele/Aroku Ward 3 of Ikere LGA. The chieftain later cast his ballot at the polling unit at about 9:31am. He expressed concerns over the pace of voting at the polling unit and questioned the conduct of the electoral process. “People have been here for about one and a half hours, and only five people have voted in my polling unit,” he said. “That’s…

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has extended the closing time for voting in the Rivers South-East Senatorial District by-election by one hour following disruptions caused by heavy rainfall across parts of the district. INEC announced on Saturday that polling, originally scheduled to end at 2:30 p.m., would now close at 3:30 p.m. to enable eligible voters affected by the weather to exercise their franchise. In a message to members of the INEC Press Corps, the Commission’s Director of Voter Education and Publicity, Victoria Eta-Messi, said the extension was approved by the Chairman of the Commission after reports indicated that…

Manchester United forward Matheus Cunha scored twice as Brazil comfortably overcame Haiti – who became the first team to be eliminated from the 2026 World Cup. Carlo Ancelotti’s side responded to criticisms of their performance in their opening-game draw with Morocco with a impressive display, albeit against lesser opposition in Philadelphia, to go top of Group C. Cunha, who replaced Brentford striker Igor Thiago in the starting line-up, scored a fortuitous opener in the 23rd minute when Haiti defender Hannes Delcroix kicked the ball off him and it spun into the net. However, the forward was the first to react…

Scotland conceded after just 70 seconds to fall to a World Cup defeat against a classy Morocco, but their hopes of a historic knockout place remain in their own hands with one group game to go. Head coach Steve Clarke had asked for the “footballing Gods to be smiling down on us” – with the knowledge one point would all-but confirm their progression out of Group C – but the Scots made the worst possible start. Sloppy defending allowed Ismael Saibari to rocket Morocco – ranked the sixth best team in the world – into a sensational lead inside the…