By Eze Okechukwu, Abuja

The Senate, through its Committee on Sports has held an emergency meeting with both the Chairman of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Alhaji Ibrahim Musa Gusua and the Director General of the National Sports Commission (NSC), Alhaji Shehu Dikko where it expressed dismay over the recent abysmal performances of Nigeria football teams in both the male and female categories.

The meeting held yesterday at the office of the Senate Committee Chairman on Sports, Alhaji Abdul Ningi in his office at the National Assembly, according to the Bauchi lawmaker was at the instance of the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio who he said was worried that the Super Eagles missed out of the recently concluded World Cup and a few days ago her female counterpart, Super Falcons missed out on the qualifications to the World Cup in Brazil next year.

According to Ningi , the need for NSC and NFF to close ranks for better performances by Nigerian teams at the world stage was emphasized at the meeting and commitments already being got in that respect .

Ningi disclosed further that the meeting was summoned to unravel reasons behind the dismal performances of Nigerian football teams in recent time despite the enormous motivational packages given by President Bola Tinubu to both the players and officials.

He however said despite calls for disbandment of NFF by some concerned football enthusiasts in the country, the Senate along with other critical stakeholders will ensure that whatever action that will be taken falls within the limits of the law.

“My concern is that whatever action we must take must be within the limits of the law. We must look at our laws and we must also look at the FIFA statutes”, he said.

From Francis Sadhere, Delta

Delta State Governor, Rt. Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori, has called on Christian leaders across the state to rally support for President Bola Tinubu and other candidates of the All Progressives Congress (APC) ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Oborevwori made the call on Wednesday when the Executive Committee of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN), Delta State, led by its Chairman, Bishop Abos Willie, paid him a special prayer visit at Government House, Asaba.

The Governor said his membership of the APC came with the responsibility to work for the success of the party, stressing that he would continue to support Tinubu and the party’s candidates.

He therefore urged Christians who believed his administration was performing well to extend the same goodwill to President Tinubu, arguing that political participation was too important for the church to ignore.

Oborevwori, who attributed his emergence as governor in 2023 to the grace of God and the prayers of Christian leaders, appealed to the PFN and other religious leaders to intensify prayers for the President, the nation and Delta State.

He said the 2027 elections should not be viewed solely through the lens of political calculations, maintaining that God remained supreme in determining who would occupy positions of authority.

The Governor specifically requested prayers for Tinubu for wisdom, strength, good health and divine direction as the President implements his administration’s reforms.

According to him, the reforms were beginning to improve the financial capacity of governments at the state and local government levels, with councils now better positioned to execute projects.

Oborevwori said his administration would continue to channel available resources into infrastructure and other development projects across Delta State, noting that several projects had already been completed while others were ongoing under his MORE Agenda.

He also urged Christians to participate responsibly in politics, stressing that political decisions have direct consequences on virtually every aspect of society.

The Governor further appealed for sustained prayers for peace and security in Delta State, saying the prevailing atmosphere of stability must be preserved through collective efforts.

The PFN delegation offered prayers for Oborevwori, his administration, Delta State and Nigeria, seeking divine wisdom, protection, peace and continued progress.

Speaking during the visit, PFN Chairman in Delta, Bishop Abos Willie, commended the Governor for what he described as remarkable achievements in infrastructure, peace and development, as well as his growing acceptance beyond the state.

Willie assured the Governor that the Christian body would intensify prayers for his administration and the 2027 elections, disclosing that prayer centres would be established across the state to seek divine intervention for peaceful campaigns and a violence-free electoral process.

He said the PFN was particularly impressed by Oborevwori’s handling of potentially volatile situations and his ability to maintain peace across the state.

The PFN Chairman disclosed that the fellowship had also strengthened its structures across Delta, with about 4,150 ward officers and coordinators expected to be deployed across the state.

He said the fellowship had established a College of Theology with more than 300 students and was completing a hatchery project as part of its contribution to economic empowerment.

Willie assured the Governor of continued prayers for divine favour, wisdom and strength, as well as greater recognition and development of Delta State.

He also commended the state government for organising the Delta State Economic and Investment Summit, describing the initiative as capable of attracting investments and accelerating the state’s economic transformation.

The PFN leadership’s visit came as the Governor intensified his appeal for greater political engagement by the Christian community ahead of the 2027 elections, while linking continued prayers and responsible political participation to the pursuit of peace, good governance and development in Delta State.

The Anti-Corruption Academy of Nigeria (ACAN) said the future of the anti-graft war lies less in arrests and more in training public officers to block illicit financial flows before they occur.

The Provost of ACAN, Prof.

  Sheriff Ibrahim stated this on Wednesday while declaring open a 3-day workshop on “Tackling Illicit Financial Flows (IFF) and Money Laundering” at the institute in Keffi, Nasarawa State.

Ibrahim said ACAN was created specifically to build a knowledge base that can produce sound, preventive anti-corruption policies.

He noted that enforcement alone had not stopped fraudulent practices from thriving across government.

“From the education sector, to our health institutions and transportation system… anecdotes of fraudulent transactions that are perpetrated with impunity abound,” he said.

According to him, the injury inflicted by corruption on Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) can only be better imagined, which is why the academy is pushing training and re-training as the new frontline.

“Our philosophy is that corruption and related crimes can be controlled and managed through a system of training and re-training that will produce sound anti-corruption policies, operational efficiency and good management culture.”

He explained that the workshop was carefully designed with clear learning objectives to equip public servants with the tools to detect and prevent money laundering and illicit financial flows within their institutions.

The provost challenged participants to make the best use of the three-day engagement, stressing that the goal was to create an enabling environment where integrity and accountability become standard practice.

Ibrahim also highlighted the scale of the problem Nigeria and Africa face in battling the scourge of corruption.

He cited UNCTAD 2020 data showing that Africa loses about 88.6 billion dollars annually to illicit financial flows, or 3.7 per cent of the continent’s GDP.

He said the extractive sector, especially gold, oil and mining, remains the biggest pipeline, with trade misinvoicing and profit shifting by multinationals accounting for much of it.

The gold sector alone, he noted, accounts for 77 per cent of 40 billion dollars in under-invoicing.

For Nigeria, he said estimates for 2023 put the annual loss at about 18 billion dollars, representing 30 per cent of Africa’s total IFFs, which are estimated at 90 billion dollars yearly.

The provost further referenced a statement by former AfDB President, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, who said Africa loses 1.6 billion dollars daily to “financial leakages”

This he said included 90 billion dollars a year to IFFs, 275 billion dollars to profit shifting, and 148 billion dollars to corruption.

Ibrahim said these figures showed why Nigeria could not afford to keep fighting corruption with enforcement alone.

“Thus, this ugly situation requires attention for Nigeria to flourish,” he said.

He reminded participants that one of ACAN’s core mandates is to provide training on good governance, accountability, transparency, integrity and ethics, while also building research that informs policy.

The provost also appreciated chief executives of MDAs who released their staff for the training, saying the academy did not take their commitment for granted.