AFRICAN NEWS FLASH

Former Tottenham manager, Harry Redknapp, has said that Manchester United are ‘miles away’ from challenging for the Premier League title. He said the Red Devils could need six additional signings after the arrival of Aaron Wan-Bissaka. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side have already signed Daniel James in an £18 million deal from Swansea City and are on the verge of announcing the acquisition of Wan-Bissaka for £50m from Crystal Palace. “But Redknapp has warned Solskjaer that an overhaul of his squad is still needed and believes United could slip out of the top six in the Premier League next season,” Redknapp told Sky Sports. “I think next season we might see one of the big six dropping out.

The immediate past governor of Zamfara State, Abdulaziz Yari, awarded a contract for the same project twice to the same contractor at bloated cost, documents exclusively obtained. The contract for the construction and drilling of 84 solar-powered boreholes across the 14 Local governments of Zamfara State was first awarded in 2014 to a Chinese firm, China Zhonghao Nigeria Limited, for N27.5billion. The same contract was again awarded in 2018 with the same scope and at the same cost. Worse still, the initial valuation communicated to the company when the state government first notified it of the award of the contract, was N19.7 billion.

Super Eagles captain, John Mikel Obi, has intervened in the bonus row between the players and the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), the BBC reports. The players had threatened to boycott training, after the federation failed to pay outstanding bonuses and allowances, following their 1-0 win over Burundi in their first Africa Cup of Nations Group B fixture. The squad was an hour late for training on Tuesday, before Mikel Obi persuaded the players, to come out and train ahead of tomorrow’s crunch clash against Guinea. The NFF, which receives its funding from the government, has denied it was responsible for the delay in paying the players’ bonuses. It is however understood that payments would be paid, before Gernot Rohr’s men take on Syli Stars, looking for a win that will see them qualify for the Round of 16. This comes few days after the Super Falcons staged a sit-in protest at their hotel in Paris, after they were eliminated from the Women’s World Cup in France, over monies owed

President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday  confirmed the appointment of the Group General Manager, Crude Oil Marketing Division (COMD) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mele Kolo Kyari, as the new Group Managing Director of the corporation. Mr Kyari from Borno State, succeeds the incumbent GMD, Maikanti Baru, who is due for retirement from the NNPC next month. Mr Kyari comes to the job as the 19th GMD of the NNPC with a rich profile of professional and service credentials. A geologist, Mr Kyari is known in the oil industry as a crude oil marketer with outfield pedigree in petroleum economics and crude oil and gas trading. With over 32 years of experience in the oil and gas industry, his tour of duty traversed the entire value chain of the petroleum industry. “Under his watch, the Crude Oil Marketing Division of the NNPC has recorded noticeable transformation in the management and sales of the various Nigeria’s crude oil grades via an infusion of transparency and

President Muhammadu Buhari has appointed Mr. Mele Kolo Kyari as the new Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, bringing to an end the tenure of Maikanti Baru, as the oil firm’s boss. NNPC’s Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, Ndu Ughamadu, who disclosed this in Abuja on Thursday morning, stated that the President also appointed alongside Kyari, seven new Chief Operating Officers.

Report of investigation over missing funds at Nigerian Apex Bank submitted to the Presidency

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday said his close ally Mohamed Morsi was “killed” and accused Egyptian authorities of failing to intervene to save the ex-president. “Morsi was struggling on the floor in the courtroom for 20 minutes. Authorities, unfortunately, did not intervene to save him,” Erdogan said during a televised speech in Istanbul. “Morsi was killed, he did not die of natural causes.” Details Later…

The United States Mission in Nigeria says it's not denying Nigerians student visas. The United States Mission in Nigeria has denied media reports that it has placed a ban on issuing student visas to Nigerians. A report last week had claimed that the U.S. immigration office had effectively halted issuing student visas to Nigerians until further notice.

Top-ranking lawmakers in Nigeria’s National Assembly said they were expecting President Muhammadu Buhari to submit a list of ministers that will form his federal executive council before or by July 2. The Ahmad Lawan-led 9th Senate would upon resumption from its two weeks recess in July begin a speedy screening and confirmation of persons whose names are expected to have been submitted by the Presidency before the July 2 resumption of the upper legislative chamber. A ranking senator told The Guardian, however, that at the moment, nothing is on the ground regarding the list of persons to be confirmed as ministers but was optimistic that within the two weeks of the Senate recess, the President would have submitted the list. Another lawmaker who just got elevated from the House of Representatives to the Senate in the February 23, 2019 election said that although the President is still within a reasonable time if he submits the list before July, expectations are that President Muhammadu

…Petitions against Buhari drop to three Ade Adesomoju, Abuja The Coalition for Change has withdrawn its petition challenging the victory of President Muhammadu Buhari and his All Progressives Congress in the February 23 presidential election. The request made on behalf of the party by its lawyer, Mr. Obed Agwu, at the resumed hearing before the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal on Monday, was not opposed by the lawyers representing the respondents -Buhari, APC and the Independent National Electoral Commission. The Justice Mohammed Garba-led panel of the subsequently dismissed the petition. With the development, there are now three petitions against the Buhari’s victory at the poll.

The two contenders for the position of the Senate presidency on Sunday intensified efforts to woo senators-elect ahead of Tuesday’s election for the leadership of the 9th National Assembly. While the immediate past Senate Leader, Ahmed Lawan, met the former Deputy President of the Senate, Ike Ekweremadu and some other Peoples Democratic Party senators, there were indications that Senator Ali Ndume, had got the support of some members of the opposition parties.

Devastating floods in South Africa have left 51 dead and forced more than a thousand people from their homes, according to an updated toll issued Wednesday as President Cyril Ramaphosa flew to the deluged region.