Nigeria’s Super Eagles on Thursday kept their hopes of qualifying for the 2026 FIFA World Cup alive with a 2–1 victory over Lesotho in their Group C qualifier. The match was played on the African continent, with both sides seeking crucial points toward qualification for the North American tournament.
Head coach Eric Chelle fielded a strong starting lineup that featured the return of Galatasaray forward Victor Osimhen and Al-Kholood defender William Troost-Ekong, both key figures for the national team.
Nigeria started brightly, with Moses Simon setting the early tone in the sixth minute, cutting in from the right flank but finding Lesotho’s defence too organised to break down. Despite dominating possession, the Eagles struggled with sloppy passes as the Crocodiles’ compact back line limited attacking opportunities.
Osimhen came close to opening the scoring in the 38th minute after outpacing his marker to connect with a cross from the right, but his powerful strike was kept out by Lesotho goalkeeper Sekhoane Moerane. The first half ended goalless despite Nigeria’s sustained pressure.
The breakthrough came eight minutes into the second half when Motlomelo Mkwanazi was penalised for a handball inside the box after blocking a shot from Moses Simon. Captain William Troost-Ekong converted the resulting penalty, calmly placing the ball into the bottom right corner to put Nigeria ahead.
Nigeria doubled their lead in the 80th minute following a swift attacking move. Osimhen set up Akor Adams, who drilled home a composed finish past Sekhoane to make it 2–0.
Lesotho, however, capitalised on a defensive lapse from Nigeria late in the game. A poorly cleared corner kick fell to Hlompho Kalake, who fired a looping shot over goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali to reduce the deficit.
Despite the late scare, the Super Eagles held firm to secure all three points, boosting their qualification chances as they continue their campaign toward the 2026 World Cup, to be hosted across the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, has questioned the cost of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, saying the Minister of Works, David Umahi, should not “dance around” providing details about the project’s expenses.
In a viral video released on Friday, Makinde commented on the controversy surrounding the project, which was approved by President Bola Tinubu.
His remarks came days after a heated on-air exchange between Umahi and Arise TV anchor, Rufai Oseni, over the cost breakdown of the highway.
During the interview, Oseni had asked Umahi to state the cost of the project per kilometre, a question that appeared to irritate the minister.
Umahi dismissed the query, insisting that the cost per kilometre varied and could not be easily simplified. He also told the presenter to “keep quiet,” describing himself as a “professor in engineering.”
Reacting, Makinde defended Oseni’s question, stating that the minister owed Nigerians transparency on how public funds were being spent. He illustrated his point by citing examples from Oyo State road projects, where costs were clearly stated and justified.
“When we did the Oyo to Iseyin road, it was about ₦9.99 billion for roughly 35 kilometres; an average of ₦238 million per kilometre,” Makinde said. “For Iseyin to Ogbomoso, 76 kilometres cost about ₦43 billion, averaging ₦500 million per kilometre. That’s how to be accountable.”
The Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, a 700-kilometre project spanning nine states with two northern spurs, was flagged off last year.
The first phase, covering 47.47 kilometres, is being constructed by Hitech Construction Company Limited using concrete pavement.
Former presidential candidate, Dr. Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, has accused elements within the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) of sponsoring renewed allegations against him through his estranged wife, describing it as part of a smear campaign to discredit him ahead of the 2027 general elections.
In a detailed statement, Olawepo-Hashim alleged that his ex-wife’s recent claims in the media were orchestrated by remnants of the same political handlers who, he said, plotted to stop his 2019 presidential bid.
According to him, “She had been recruited by elements around Buhari in the UK High Commission and the Nigerian Intelligence Agency (NIA). Apart from other sinister things they did, they tried to frame me up for funding terrorism. I was questioned in the UK and released when no evidence was found. She was the one who gave the information to the UK authorities.”
The politician alleged that the same group seized two of his oil assets during the period, forcing him into a prolonged legal battle. He recalled that in November 2020, the Federal High Court, Abuja, presided over by Justice Taiwo Taiwo, restored the Hely Creek and Abigborodo marginal oil fields to his company, Transnational Energy Limited (TEL), after ruling that the government’s revocation of the fields was illegal. The court also awarded $20 million in damages against the federal institutions involved.
Olawepo-Hashim claimed that his ex-wife’s legal battle in the UK was part of that broader scheme, adding that she was “recruited by the then Deputy Director-General of the NIA, Air Force General Bello, who is her in-law.”
He explained that she obtained an undefended divorce judgment in England in which she was awarded £18 million (about ₦36 billion), but the judgment was later annulled by a Nigerian court since their marriage was conducted under Nigerian law.
“APC handlers funded her with millions of dollars, nominating her for several foreign grants for female entrepreneurs and start-up businesses. My lawyers have written to her several times to provide account details for the children’s upkeep, but she refused because she wants £18 million, not money for their welfare,” he said.
The former presidential candidate added that his ex-wife had denied his family access to their children, describing her as “a professional blackmailer and social climber who has made plenty of money from that trade.”
He maintained that the revival of her story was politically motivated, asserting that “now that the 2027 campaign has started, the same APC team has picked her up again, pushing her story in the media.”
Olawepo-Hashim dismissed reports of a new court order directing one of his companies to pay ₦300 million, calling it “an invention of an APC night court,” as he claimed no such process was ever served on his legal team.
“This is an act of desperation on their part, and it shows our message is biting them. Picking up stories from bitter women against opposition figures will not save the APC from imminent defeat in 2027,” he stated.
Concluding, he said, “Tales like this did not stop President Trump in America; they won’t stop us here either, by the grace of God.”
The Chairman of the All Progressives Congress APC in Oyo state, Pharm. Olayide Abas has expressed his optimism that the seeming intractable crisis would soon be a thing of the past “as all indications point to the fact that stakeholders would work together henceforth and build a formidable progressive party in the state.”
Abas stated this on Thursday while reacting to questions from a team of journalists who visited him in his office at the APC’s Secretariat in Oke-Ado, Ibadan.
According to him; “Crisis have always been part of human existence and it is not expected that any political gathering would always be without crisis borne out of interactions, competition and projection. Therefore, the ability of the leadership of a political group or party to manage such an inevitable crisis effectively would define its growth, expansion and electoral success.
“In Oyo APC today, we have gone through a lot in the last seven or eight years and the beautiful thing now is that we have got to a point where virtually everyone is saying ‘enough is enough’. We had a Leadership Summit on Tuesday and its outcome reflected a bright future of hope, unity and progress for our great Party in the state. The Summit was well attended by invited dignitaries from across the state and it signalled a new beginning with a promise of huge success.
“I must appreciate Party leaders such as; His Excellency Chief Iyiola Oladokun, Chief Akin Oke, Senator Ayo Adeseun, Sen. Brimo Yusuf, Alhaji Fatai Ibikunle among other stakeholders as well as all the members of the Peace Advocates (a group of eminent APC leaders in the state) for their contributions to the success of the Summit which rekindled the spirit of togetherness, love and service in our people as evident in the feedback generated during and after the programme.
“We have carried out series of reconciliation efforts since I assumed office as the state chairman late last year and the results are manifesting. Even the Summit which we organized successfully on Tuesday was sponsored by eminent party members who wanted the best for the APC in the state and the next thing is for us to set up an Implementation Committee for the resolutions reached at the summit to see the light of the day while efforts are being put in place to organize an expanded Stakeholder Meeting as soon as possible with a view to bringing everyone on board.” Abas added.
The National Council of State has approved the appointment of Professor Joash Ojo Amupitan, SAN, as the new Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). His nomination was presented by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu during the Council’s meeting held at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Professor Amupitan, a distinguished legal scholar and Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Administration) at the University of Jos, becomes the first person from Kogi State to be nominated for the top electoral position. The Council described him as a man of integrity and vast experience in law, governance, and public administration.
President Tinubu emphasized that Amupitan’s appointment was based on merit and his proven record of impartiality. The nomination will now be forwarded to the Senate for confirmation, as required by the Nigerian Constitution.
Amupitan, who was conferred with the title of Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) in 2014, is expected to steer the nation’s electoral body through key reforms ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Council of State Approves Prof. Joash Amupitan as New INEC Chairman
News Content: The National Council of State has approved the appointment of Professor Joash Ojo Amupitan, SAN, as the new Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). His nomination was presented by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu during the Council’s meeting held at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Professor Amupitan, a distinguished legal scholar and Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Administration) at the University of Jos, becomes the first person from Kogi State to be nominated for the top electoral position. The Council described him as a man of integrity and vast experience in law, governance, and public administration.
President Tinubu emphasized that Amupitan’s appointment was based on merit and his proven record of impartiality. The nomination will now be forwarded to the Senate for confirmation, as required by the Nigerian Constitution.
Amupitan, who was conferred with the title of Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) in 2014, is expected to steer the nation’s electoral body through key reforms ahead of the 2027 general elections.
President Bola Tinubu has requested the approval of the House of Representatives to obtain $2.3 billion in external borrowing to finance Nigeria’s 2025 budget deficit and refinance maturing Eurobonds.
The request was contained in a letter sent to the House and read during Tuesday’s plenary session by Speaker Abbas Tajudeen. According to the letter, the total borrowing plan amounts to $2,347,465,000, comprising $1.2 billion in new external loans to finance the 2025 Appropriation Act and $1.1 billion to refinance maturing Eurobond obligations.
Tinubu explained that the move aligns with efforts to diversify Nigeria’s funding sources and deepen the federal government’s securities market. He noted that between September 2017 and May 2025, the Debt Management Office (DMO) had raised ₦1.39 trillion through Sukuk bonds in the domestic market to support road infrastructure development.
The President added that the new external loans would complement domestic borrowing and bridge infrastructure funding gaps. He also proposed the issuance of a stand-alone sovereign Sukuk — with or without a credit enhancement guarantee — from the Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Investment and Export Credit (ICIEC), a member of the Islamic Development Bank Group.
According to the letter, 25 percent of the proceeds from the proposed Sukuk issuance would be used to refinance expensive government debt, while the balance would go toward financing pre-identified infrastructure projects.
Tinubu urged lawmakers to pass a resolution approving the borrowing through Eurobonds, bridge finance, loan syndication, or direct loans from international financial institutions.
This latest borrowing proposal adds to Nigeria’s expanding external debt portfolio. Earlier in 2025, the Senate approved a $21.5 billion external borrowing plan for 2025–2026, while total public debt had surpassed $108 billion by mid-2025, according to data from the Debt Management Office.
The Court of Appeal sitting in Ibadan has nullified the 2019 suspension of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) in Oyo State, describing the action of Governor Seyi Makinde as unconstitutional and unlawful.
Delivering its judgment, the appellate court held that the state government lacked the legal authority to unilaterally proscribe or suspend the activities of a registered trade union recognized under national law.
The court emphasized that such powers rest solely with the appropriate federal institutions, not a state governor.
Recall that in 2019, shortly after assuming office, Governor Makinde ordered the suspension of the NURTW in the state, citing concerns over violence and insecurity within the transport sector. The move led to the establishment of the Park Management System (PMS), which has since overseen motor park operations in Oyo.
With the latest judgment, the NURTW may now regain control of its activities and assets across the state, pending further legal or administrative actions.
Nigerian singer Habeeb Okikiola, popularly known as Portable, has called on the government to ban prank videos after an altercation involving him at the Port Harcourt International Airport went viral.
The viral clip shows Portable in beige attire attempting to confront an unidentified individual as airport security personnel and bystanders try to restrain him amid a chaotic scene. The 53-second footage captures shoving, shouting, and confusion, with one person seen barefoot and another wielding what appears to be a belt.
Reacting in a video posted on his Instagram page on Monday, Portable claimed he was attacked by “death pranksters”, individuals who stage fake death scenes for social media content.
Speaking in a mix of English and Yoruba, he said the incident nearly escalated into violence, adding that the pranksters were attempting to tarnish his reputation.
He wrote, “Make Government stop all those Prankers and some fake Bloggers. Make them stop all this fake news post just because of small fame. Why una dey spoil person wey get glory name with una platforms?”
The “Zazu Zeh” crooner, who has a history of controversial public outbursts, maintained that he acted in self-defense and called for stricter regulation of online prank content.
The cost of cooking gas has hit an all-time high across Lagos, sparking outrage among residents and food vendors who say the sudden price surge is crippling household budgets and small businesses.
A market survey by Lagos Reporters on Saturday revealed that a kilogram of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) now sells for between ₦1,900 and ₦2,000, depending on the area a sharp increase from the ₦1,200 average recorded just weeks ago.
The scarcity has been attributed to supply disruptions, forcing many families to revert to charcoal and kerosene for cooking. Vendors in areas like Surulere, Ikeja, and Ajah lamented that customers are now buying in smaller quantities or abandoning gas entirely.
Residents are appealing to the Federal Government to intervene and stabilize the market, warning that the continuous rise in energy costs could worsen the already high cost of living
The Gbenga Hashim Solidarity Movement (GHSM) has declared that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who was rejected by voters across Southern Nigeria in the 2023 presidential election, will face a nationwide rejection in 2027 from both North and South.
Reacting to a recent statement by the Lagos chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC), the South West Coordinator of GHSM, Alhaji Abass Olaniyi, said the APC’s usual arrogance and false sense of invincibility will once again lead to its downfall at the polls.
“In 2023, it was in this same manner that the Lagos APC dismissed opposition elements as ‘online politicians,’ only to lose the presidential election in Lagos to the very people they mocked,” Abass stated.
“The APC not only lost the presidential election in Lagos State, but Tinubu also lost across Southern Nigeria. He was merely rescued by the APC in Northern Nigeria, a base that has now completely evaporated,” he added.
According to the movement, the northern bloc that supported President Tinubu in 2023 has since “fractured beyond repair” due to what it described as the catastrophic economic and security failures of his administration.
Abass criticized the APC’s economic management, accusing the party of presiding over a decade long collapse that “defies logic.”
“For ten years under APC leadership, Nigeria’s economy has suffered a collapse that defies logic. The economy has shrunk by almost 50% within a decade, an economic disaster unprecedented in Nigerian history,” he said.
“Not even during military rule, nor in the civil war era, did the nation experience this depth of economic devastation.”
Gbenga Hashim Solidarity Movement said the APC administration has failed woefully in addressing insecurity, despite campaigning on the promise to end insurgency in the North East.
“Instead of improving security, its incompetence has expanded insecurity to the North West, North Central, South East, and even parts of the South West,” Abass said.
“This nationwide insecurity represents one of the worst governance failures in Africa’s contemporary history,” he added.
He described the Tinubu administration as “synonymous with hunger, poverty, and hopelessness,” adding that the people of Nigeria can no longer be deceived by propaganda or empty promises.
Olaniyi emphasized that the 2027 general elections would not be determined by regional loyalty or political coercion, but by the people’s lived realities.
“With the decapitation of the APC in the North and its dismal record in office, no amount of coercion or conscription of Southern State chief executives into its fold can offer it a pathway out of comprehensive defeat in 2027,” he said.
“The South West electorate is far too educated and progressive to reward monumental failure with another term simply because President Tinubu hails from the region,” he added.
Responding to the APC’s mockery of Dr. Gbenga Hashim, Abass drew a parallel with former President Muhammadu Buhari, who contested four times before achieving victory.
“President Buhari, whose burial site President Tinubu is now clutching to like a political totem for the 2027 election, contested four good times before becoming victorious. The time for victory in the race of life is in the hand of God, and it is our firm belief that 2027 is the time of Dr. Gbenga Hashim by the Grace of God,” he declared.
The GHSM maintained that Gbenga Hashim’s ideology of responsible governance and people-centered politics has become the new hope for millions of Nigerians disillusioned by the deceit and manipulation of the Tinubu political structure.
“While the APC administration continues to promote media driven illusions of progress, ordinary Nigerians are battling hunger, unemployment, and economic hopelessness. The Tinubu government has turned governance into a publicity show, but what Nigerians need is substance, not slogans; results, not rhetoric,” Abass said.
The Gbenga Hashim Solidarity Movement concluded that the 2027 election will not be a contest of propaganda, but a referendum on competence, truth, and genuine development.
“The people have seen through the deceit. No political marketing can sell hardship as progress anymore. Gbenga Hashim will not only emerge as the PDP’s presidential candidate in 2027; he will defeat Bola Tinubu and restore Nigeria to the path of justice, prosperity, and national unity,” the group declared.
