Author: Opalim Lifted

Canada became the first co-host to exit the 2026 World Cup as they were well beaten by Morocco in Houston. The Moroccans, having failed to impress in a bad-tempered first half, took the lead five minutes after the interval through Azzedine Ounahi. Ounahi swept home Achraf Hakimi’s cut-back free kick from inside the D as the Canadian defence failed to close him down. The Girona midfielder scored his second by converting a breakaway with eight minutes remaining to seal victory. And an ultimately comfortable win was topped off in stoppage time as Soufiane Rahimi slid his shot under keeper Maxime…

Adewale Adeniyi, the Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), has been unanimously re-elected as chairperson of the World Customs Organization (WCO) Council. Adeniyi’s re-election took place during the organisation’s 147th and 148th Council Sessions held in Brussels, Belgium. In a statement on Friday, Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, said President Bola Tinubu described the re-election as a historic endorsement of Adeniyi’s visionary leadership. “Adeniyi’s unanimous re-election is not only a personal honour for Adeniyi but also a recognition of Nigeria’s growing influence in global customs administration,” Tinubu said. “His leadership of the Nigeria…

The Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Tunji Disu has vowed that security agencies will pursue and prosecute everyone involved in the recent wave of violence in Osun State ahead of the August 15 governorship election. Speaking during a visit to Governor Ademola Adeleke at the Government House in Osogbo on Friday, Disu expressed concern over the growing number of killings, clashes, and political unrest in the state, describing the situation as unacceptable. He said the police had monitored the violence for months and warned that the forthcoming governorship election must not be treated as a battle. “This is an election, not…

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has extended the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise by two weeks. In January 2026, INEC resumed the nationwide CVR exercise, marking the start of the second phase of the process. The resumption followed the conclusion of the first phase, which ended on December 10, 2025. The commission launched online pre-registration for the exercise on August 18, 2025, before commencing in-person registration at designated centres nationwide on August 25, 2025. In a statement issued on Friday, Mohammed Haruna, chairman of INEC’s Information and Voter Education Committee, said the extension followed a review of the ongoing…

Colombia progressed to the World Cup last 16 with another convincing display as Jhon Arias’ first-half winner eliminated a disappointing Ghana side in sweltering Kansas City. Playing in temperatures above 30C until well after 10pm, Nestor Lorenzo’s men booked a date with Switzerland in Vancouver on Tuesday (21:00 BST), with the mouth-watering prospect of a quarter-final meeting with Argentina looming beyond that – and the only surprise is that they did not win by a wider margin. Ghana ended the night without a shot on target and registered just four in total across their four games – only Iraq had…

Former Vice President Prof. Yemi Osinbajo has shared details of his engagements with prominent global and Nigerian leaders on the sidelines of the Hamburg Sustainability Conference. In a post on Instagram, Osinbajo said he was pleased to reconnect with Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, whom he described as his “dear sister”. He disclosed that she accepted a last-minute invitation to share her perspectives on emerging issues in global trade during the Future of Development Cooperation Coalition (FDCC) retreat in London. Osinbajo also said he met with Mo Ibrahim, Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, Faruk Yabo, and Maryam Hassan Bukar during the conference. He praised…

Former Vice President of Nigeria, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, has met with former German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and former Costa Rican President Laura Chinchilla during the Hamburg Sustainability Conference in Germany. Osinbajo, who is serving as co-chair of the Future of Development Cooperation Coalition (FDCC), disclosed the meeting in a post shared on Instagram. According to him, the discussions focused on strengthening collaboration between the FDCC and the newly launched South-North Coalition on Development, which is co-chaired by Scholz and Chinchilla. “We explored how our two commissions can align efforts to build a development cooperation system that is truly fit for…

A federal government special investigator on Friday told the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Abuja that the alleged fraudulent withdrawal of $6.23 million from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) pushed one of the bank’s special dollar accounts into a negative balance. Testifying as the 15th prosecution witness in the trial of former CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, Jim Osayande Obazee said the transaction left the account used for internal staff and Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) with a negative balance of ₦2.858 billion. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is prosecuting Emefiele on an amended 20-count charge bordering…

Senate President Godswill Akpabio says he no longer watches television because his comments are often misrepresented. Akpabio spoke on Friday at the inauguration of access roads in Karsana, Abuja, where he clarified his recent remarks on infrastructure projects under the administration of President Bola Tinubu. “I have stopped watching television because most of the things they say are not what I said,” Akpabio said. “You were there on that day, and they misrepresented what I said. I’m used to it. What I said was about the Federal Capital Territory.” The Senate president said his remarks were specifically about the number…

The Oyo State Government has refuted claims that it paid a ransom to secure the release of the 39 schoolchildren and seven teachers abducted by gunmen in Oriire LGA on May 15. In a viral video circulated on X, Martins Otse, a social media influencer popularly known as VeryDarkMan (VDM), claimed that the Oyo State Government had paid a ransom to the kidnappers for the release of the schoolchildren. “Yesterday, I got information that the Oyo State Government paid ransom for the release of the schoolchildren and teachers abducted on May 15. But the kidnappers collected the money and have…