The Black Stars, Ghana’s national football team, have long been a symbol of pride and hope for the nation. Yet, for the first time in over two decades, the team has failed to qualify for the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), leaving the country in collective heartbreak.
Welfare/Team manager Ameenu Shardow has stepped forward to shoulder the responsibility, speaking openly about the team’s shortcomings. In an emotional interview with a local radio station, Shardow didn’t hold back his regrets.
“We have let Ghanaians down by failing to qualify for the Africa Cup of Nations,” Shardow admitted, his voice laden with emotion. “It hurts because I couldn’t even go home. My family feels the pain as deeply as I do. We’ve disappointed the country, and it’s a weight I will carry for a long time.”
The Black Stars’ AFCON qualification campaign was fraught with challenges from the start. In their opening game at the iconic Baba Yara Stadium, they suffered a shock 1-0 defeat to Angola, a result that rattled the team and the nation alike. A 1-1 draw with Niger in Berkane, Morocco, kept hopes alive but failed to inspire confidence.
The doubleheader against Sudan was a turning point, though not in the way fans had hoped. A goalless draw in Accra was followed by a painful 2-0 defeat in Libya, leaving Ghana in a precarious position. The final nail in the coffin came at the Accra Sports Stadium, where the team suffered a home defeat for the first time in 16 years, sealing their fate.
For fans, the pain goes beyond the scores. The Black Stars are more than just a team; they are a reflection of Ghana’s indomitable spirit. Their failure to qualify has sent shockwaves through the country, with debates raging about what went wrong and what needs to change.
Shardow has vowed to oversee a comprehensive review of the team’s preparations, strategies, and management. “This is not just about one match or one decision; it’s a collective failure. We need to look deeply at how we prepare, how we play, and how we support the players to ensure this never happens again,” he said.
The Black Stars’ absence from AFCON 2025 will undoubtedly be felt, but for Shardow and the team, the road to redemption begins now. As fans grapple with their disappointment, the hope remains that Ghana will rise again, stronger and more united. For now, the pain lingers, but so does the resolve to rebuild.
Real Madrid manager, Carlo Ancelotti, has suggested that he has found the solution to his side’s recent poor form.
Ancelotti’s side lost their last two games against AC Milan in the Champions League and Barcelona in LaLiga.
The Los Blancos are currently second in the LaLiga table behind leaders Barcelona, who have 33 points from 12 games.
“I think we found the solution. Now we have to show this on the pitch,” Ancelotti said at his pre-match press conference.
“Sacrifice, focus and collective effort. This is the key.
“It’s a difficult moment for us but I’m happy to be here at the best club in the world.”
Big Brother Naija reality stars, Wanni and Handi Danbaki address assumptions about their love lives, clarifying that while they share many similarities, they do not share romantic partners.
Appearing on the latest episode of the BTS Podcast, Wanni revealed that men often ask if they would consider dating the same person.
The identical twins clarified that, despite having much in common, sharing the same man is not one of those things.
Citing one example out of many, Wanni recounted an experience that stunned them from a man who asked to date them together.
“We have never shared men. That’s the one thing we don’t do. We don’t share men. One crazy thing that a lot of men have on their bucket list is to be with twins.
“We were walking on the street one day and a man stopped his car and asked if he could have us both. We were shocked,” she stated.
Handi added that while they have faced similar propositions, they draw a firm line when it comes to dating.
“Yes, men have asked to date the both of us multiple times. We do not share men. But our interests are very similar. The only difference is that food-wise, Wanni eats snails and I don’t. Any other thing, we do together,” Handi added.
By Okon Okon
In a powerful reflection on Nigeria’s current state, former President Olusegun Obasanjo lamented that despite being blessed with abundant resources, the nation has squandered God’s gifts.
Speaking at the 40th-anniversary celebration of the Methodist Archdiocese of Abuja on Sunday, Obasanjo passionately emphasised that Nigeria was never meant to struggle.
He expressed deep disappointment in how the country’s leadership had failed to harness its wealth for national development.
According to Obasanjo, God endowed Nigeria with everything necessary for prosperity, yet mismanagement has led to untold hardship for the people.
“We have all we need to thrive,” Obasanjo stressed, echoing the message of Methodist Prelate Dr Oliver Aba, who had highlighted the importance of appreciating God’s blessings.
“As God created other nations and equipped them with resources, He equally blessed Nigeria. Just as Egypt has the River Nile, Nigeria has the Rivers Niger and Benue, along with crude oil, fertile land, and an abundance of natural resources.
“I firmly believe God did not create this country to struggle,” Obasanjo declared.
“We have been given everything by the Almighty, but it is up to us to recognise and appreciate these gifts, especially when so many nations are not as fortunate as we are.”
In a fervent call to action, Obasanjo urged Nigerian leaders, clergy, and citizens to seek divine guidance and healing for the country, acknowledging that the nation’s plight is not the fault of God but rather a result of human mismanagement.
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“We have squandered the gifts He gave us, but if we humble ourselves and turn to Him, I am confident He will heal our land.”
President Bola Tinubu, represented by Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, also attended the event, praising the Methodist Church Nigeria for its unwavering commitment to social justice, education, and humanitarian outreach.
In his goodwill message, Tinubu celebrated the 40th anniversary of the Abuja Archdiocese and commended the Church’s role in Nigeria’s development.
“I commend the Methodist Church Nigeria for its pioneering work and dedication to social justice, education, and humanitarian efforts, which have touched countless lives across the nation,” Tinubu said.
“The Church’s contributions to peace and unity cannot be overstated, and I urge you to continue your tireless work for the betterment of our country.”
The Methodist Prelate, Dr Oliver Aba, in his sermon titled “Our Appreciation and Gratitude to God,” urged the congregation to remain thankful despite the nation’s challenges. He cited the biblical story of the ten lepers healed by Jesus, with only one returning to express gratitude, drawing a parallel to the need for Nigeria to remain hopeful and appreciative.
“Even in these difficult times, we must remember to give thanks to God,” Aba emphasised.
“Nigeria, calm down; there is light at the end of the tunnel. We have a promised land to look forward to.”
The celebration also saw several distinguished individuals honoured with the prestigious Knights of John Wesley award, recognising their contributions to society.
Among the honourees were Obasanjo himself, former Head of State General Yakubu Gowon, President Tinubu and his wife Senator Oluremi Tinubu, former President Goodluck Jonathan, Secretary to the Government of the Federation George Akume, and Senate President Godswill Akpabio.
Other notable recipients included former Senate President David Mark, Minister of Finance Wale Edun, and several others, further marking the occasion as a gathering of some of Nigeria’s most influential figures.
Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Mahmood Yakubu has said that the Commission has complied with court orders which created some changes in the candidates list.
He said that the running mate for the Labour Party’s candidate has been replaced while the National Rescue Movement, NRM, has been added to the list.
Yakubu spoke on Wednesday during a meeting with stakeholders at the Victor Uwaifo Creative Hub ahead of the governorship election slated for September 21, 2024.
In attendance were the Inspector-General of Police, the Chairman of the Inter-Party Advisory Council in Edo State, chairmen of political parties in Edo State, the candidates and their running mates and the
National Commissioners of INEC, the Resident Electoral Commissioner for Edo State, the Commissioner of Police and other Members of ICCES, traditional and religious leaders, election observers, and media organisations.
The stakeholders meeting was jointly addressed by the INEC chairman and the Inspector-General of Police.
The purpose was to interact with political parties and candidates as well as accredited election observers, the media and other stakeholders on the preparations for the election.
Yakubu said that the Commission has so far implemented 11 out of the 13 activities on schedule for the governorship election with only two outstanding activities left.
He reminded political parties these are the last days of campaign by political parties which, according to law, ends 24 hours before the date fixed for the elections i.e. at midnight on Thursday 19th September 2024 and Election Day on Saturday 21st September 2024.
Having published the final list of candidates, the INEC boss noted that there were two adjustments to the list.
He said, “By court order, the Commission has replaced the running mate to the candidate of the Labour Party. Similarly, the National Rescue Movement (NRM) which could not file its nomination on schedule has obtained a court order to compel the Commission to include the party on the ballot.
“We have complied with the court order.”
He added, “Consequently, 18 political parties are now participating in the 2024 Edo State Governorship election.
“The updated list of parties and candidates is contained in the information booklet circulated at this meeting.”.
The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) has denied directing corps members to upgrade their accounts for the payment of N70,000 as their monthly allowance.
Recall that the nation’s official minimum wage for public servants had been the benchmark for the Corps members’ monthly allowances for some years now.
LEADERSHIP reports that President Bola Tinubu had last month signed the National Minimum Wage Bill 2024 into law, which provides for N70,000 minimum wage for workers in both public and private sectors.
NYSC Director of Information and Public Relations, Mr. Eddy Megwa, in a press statement yesterday, said the misleading information that was making the rounds on social media about new allowance for the corps members was absolute falsehood.
“Corps members, parents and members of the public should note that no directive has been received from any relevant government sector responsible for wage matters. It is therefore impossible for the NYSC to issue any directive on such.
“Corps members already know the approved channel and mode of communication in the scheme and should therefore ignore the directive accordingly.
“The NYSC by this release, therefore, urges corps members to desist from allowing mischief makers to play on their intelligence,” he said.
He also warned bloggers and social media influencers to stop issuing statements that concern the management of NYSC without authorisation.
The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) has denied directing corps members to upgrade their accounts for the payment of N70,000 as their monthly allowance.
Recall that the nation’s official minimum wage for public servants had been the benchmark for the Corps members’ monthly allowances for some years now.
LEADERSHIP reports that President Bola Tinubu had last month signed the National Minimum Wage Bill 2024 into law, which provides for N70,000 minimum wage for workers in both public and private sectors.
NYSC Director of Information and Public Relations, Mr. Eddy Megwa, in a press statement on Sunday, said the misleading information that was making the rounds on social media about new allowance for the Corps members was absolute falsehood.
“Corps members, parents and members of the public should note that no directive has been received from any relevant government sector responsible for wage matters. It is therefore impossible for the NYSC to issue any directive on such.
“Corps members already know the approved channel and mode of communication in the scheme and should therefore ignore the directive accordingly.
“The NYSC by this release, therefore, urges corps members to desist from allowing mischief makers to play on their intelligence,” he said.
He also warned bloggers and social media influencers to stop issuing statements that concern the management of NYSC without authorisation.
Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said it can conduct elections in the 774 local government councils nationwide.
The chairman of INEC, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, disclosed this when he appeared before the Senate and House of Representatives Joint Committee on Electoral Matters to brief lawmakers on the Commission’s preparations for Edo and Ondo elections and its relationship with the State Independent Commissions (SIECs) in line with various court judgements.
LEADERSHIP Friday reports that since the Supreme Court’s July 11, 2024, judgment granting financial autonomy to local government councils, there have been divergent views on whether SIECs should be scrapped to allow INEC to conduct elections in councils.
However, the INEC chairman told lawmakers that the commission can conduct elections for the third branch of government in the 36 states if the National Assembly amends the constitution, transferring the responsibility to it to conduct the exercise.
“The same Constitution that created INEC also created the State’s Electoral Commissions. So, it is up to the National Assembly to amend the law to transfer that responsibility to the INEC.
“If the responsibility for the conduct of local government election is transferred to INEC, can INEC cope? The answer is yes! INEC can cope. What are we? By definition, INEC is the Independent National Electoral Commission, but right now, we do national elections, we state elections, we do local government elections.
“A national electoral commission may be expected to handle only the Presidential and National Assembly elections, but we also do governor elections, we do State Assembly elections and do the Area Councils Elections in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), the only part of the country where INEC conducts local government elections.
“Broadly speaking, if you ask us if we can handle local government elections, yes, we can handle the local government elections. When is it going to happen? When you amend the law and empower the commission to do so,” he said.
According to the chairman, the commission has demonstrated by its track record that it can conduct local government elections as can be inferred from FCT Area Councils polls INEC presides over.
“Check the case of FCT, and I would like to say one or two things about the FCT local government elections. There are six Area Councils in the FCT. As I said, there are six chairmen in the FCT and 62 wards in the FCT.
“Each Ward constitutes a Constituency for the election of Councilors, and this is one part of the country where INEC has conducted local government elections, and it has resulted in the following:
“Number one, it is perhaps the only part of the country where local government elections are held regularly as at when due, elections are held in the FCT.
“Number two, there has never been a Caretaker Committee for any Area Council in the FCT, INEC has been conducting the election regularly.
“Number three, there is stability of tenure. It used to be three years, but in 2022, the National Assembly amended the Electoral Act to provide for a four-year tenure for Area Councils in the FCT.
“Number four, no single political party has ever won elections in all the constituencies in the FCT. In fact, what is interesting now is that out of the six chairmen of the FCT; APC had three Area Councils, PDP has three Areas Councils. If you take the Councillorship elections is very interesting indeed; 62 Councilors in the FCT, APC has 19, PDP won in 43 constituencies,” he said.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said that it has the capacity to conduct elections into the 774 local government area councils across the country.
The chairman of INEC, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, disclosed this when he appeared before the Senate and House of Representatives Joint Committee on Electoral Matters, to brief lawmakers on the Commission’s
preparations for the upcoming Edo and Ondo State governorship elections and its relationship with the State Independent Electoral Commissions (SIECs) in relation to various court judgements.
LEADERSHIP reports that since the Supreme Judgement of July 11, 2024, granting financial autonomy to local government areas in the country, there have been divergent views on whether SIECs should be scrapped to allow INEC to conduct local government elections in order to extricate LGAs from the control of State governors.
However, the INEC chairman told lawmakers that the commission can conduct elections at the third tier of government in the 36 states if the National Assembly amend the 1999 Constitution, transferring the responsibility to it to conduct the exercise.
“The same Constitution that creates INEC also creates the State Electoral Commissions. So it is up to the National Assembly to amend the law to transfer that responsibility to the INEC.
“If the responsibility for the conduct of local government election is transferred to INEC, can INEC cope? The answer is yes! INEC can cope. What are we? By definition, INEC is the Independent National Electoral Commission but right now we do national elections, we can do state elections, we do local government elections.
“A national electoral commission may be expected to handle only the Presidential and National Assembly elections but we also do governorship election, we do State Assembly elections and do the Area Council Elections in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), the only part of the country where INEC conducts local government elections.
“Broadly speaking, if you ask us, can we handle local government elections, yes we can handle the local government elections. When is it going to happen? When you amend the law and empower the commission to do so,” the INEC chairman told the lawmakers.
According to Prof. Yakubu, the commission has demonstrated by its track record that it can conduct local government elections as can be inferred from FCT Area Council polls, which INEC undertakes periodically.
“Check the case of FCT and I will like to say one or two things about the FCT local government elections. There are six Area Councils in the FCT. Like I said, there are six chairmen in the FCT, there are 62 wards in the FCT.
“Each Ward constitutes Constituency for the election of Councilors and this is one part of the country that INEC has conducted local government elections and it has resulted in the following:
“Number one, it is perhaps only part of the country where local government elections are held regularly as at when due, elections are held in the FCT.
“Number two, there has never been a Caretaker Committee for any Area Council in the FCT, INEC has been conducting the election regularly.
“Number three, there is stability of tenure, it used to be three years but in 2022, the National Assembly amended Electoral Act to provide for a four-year tenure for Area Councils in the FCT.
“Number four, no single political party has ever won elections in all the constituencies in the FCT. In fact, what is interesting now is that out of the six chairmen of the FCT; APC has three Area Councils, PDP has three Area Councils. If you take the Councillorship elections, it’s very interesting indeed; 62 Councilors in the FCT, APC has 19, PDP won in 43 constituencies,” he said.
Yakubu noted that it was on that basis that many Nigerians say that if INEC is saddled with the responsibility of conducting local government elections, the same thing will be replicated and it will be good for Nigeria’s democracy.
He noted that if INEC is saddled with the duty of conducting local government polls, there were issues that needed to be addressed such as funding, hence 10,000 additional constituencies will be transferred to the commission, amounting to over 11,000 where it will be conducting elections.
“In any case, if you transfer local government elections to INEC, what it means is that you are going to transfer almost 10,000 Constituencies to INEC. We have 8,809 wards, each ward is a councillorship constituency. We have 774 local government areas and each local government has a chairman.
“So if you add this to the existing 1,591 constituencies where INEC conducts elections, it is well over 11,000 constituencies but the elections may not be held all in one day.
“So, in terms of capacity to do it, INEC can do it we have being doing it in the Federal Capital Territory, we have no issues. But if the decision of the National Assembly is to amend the Constitution to saddle INEC with that responsibility, then we need an engagement with the National Assembly.
“There are certain consequential amendments that have to be done for us to be handle those additional responsibilities. For instance, who is going to fund the 10,000 new Constituencies that INEC will be saddled with? There is need for a discussion to determine who is going to fund it. Or will the Federal government continue to fund for the states?
“You have to do something about the bye-elections if INEC is saddled with additional 10,000 Constituencies, we will probably be doing bye-elections every week,” the Professor of History said.
On the preparation for the forthcoming Edo and Ondo governorship elections, the INEC chairman said INEC has implemented the activities within the timelines as provided for by the law (Electoral Act, 2022), adding that it will soon start printing the voter register for the two states.
He also expressed concerns over the security and other challenges being faced ahead of the two-off cycle elections, lamenting use power of incumbency by governors to the detriment of other opposition parties and their candidates.
“We outlined 13 activities leading to the election as required by law from publication of notice for elections to conduct of election. So far, we have implemented eight activities. We are on the ninth activity and not one activity has been shifted by one day.
“We have implemented those activities in Edo and Ondo seamlessly. The ninth activity is the submission of names of polling agents by political parties in Edo by the end of this month, 30th July but for Ondo, it would be 30th of September.
“These off-cycle elections are very difficult and very challenging for us. For the simple reason that you have one state conducting governorship elections and all the political parties would form their campaign councils and would deploy all the governors, all the honourable members in support of their colleagues. It becomes very challenging for us.
“The power of incumbency is used to the advantage or disadvantage of parties and candidates and this is a clear violation of the provisions of the Electoral Act that prohibits the use of the power of incumbency to the advantage or disadvantage of any political party or candidate whether it is outdoor advertisement or campaign in the state media or the use of state facilities like stadia and public spaces,” he added.
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