Flying Eagles of Nigeria have secured a spot in the quarterfinal stage of the ongoing FIFA U-20 World Cup after an impressive 2-0 victory over the host nation, Argentina Thursday night.

Second-half goals from Ibrahim Muhammad and Haliru Sarki saw the Flying Eagles cruising into the last eight in style at the expense of Argentina at the San Juan stadium.

The Coach Ladan Bosso’s side will now face Ecuador or Korea Republic in the quarter-final.

Flying Eagles shock host

The Flying Eagles came into Thursday’s Round of 16 tie as underdogs having finished third in the group stage.

This is in contrast with the Argentines who were group winners with a hundred per cent record from their earlier games.

The game at the Suan Juan stadium took place in a thrilling atmosphere with the home crowd cheering their teams on.

With no room for errors, both teams displayed their determination to advance in the tournament right from the blast of the whistle.

Despite flashes of brilliance and nervy moments at both ends, the first half ended with a deadlock as neither team managed to find the back of the net.

The Flying Eagles defence held firm against the pressure from the Argentinian attack. The Nigerian team showcased their own attacking prowess, mounting pressure on the host country.

As the second half began, Nigeria came out with renewed energy and quickly made an impact. In the 60th minute, Ibrahim Muhammad broke the deadlock by receiving a well-executed through ball and firing it past the Argentinian goalkeeper, Gomes.

The Nigerian fans erupted in celebration as the Flying Eagles took the lead.

Expectedly, Argentina attempted a quick response with a series of onslaughts on Nigeria’s defence.

But while it appeared the single goal will be enough for the Flying Eagles to pull through, Haliru Sarki doubled his team’s lead with an impressive flying header, assisted by Victor Eletu’s accurate cross in stoppage time.

Argentina fought back desperately, creating a few chances to grab an equaliser but the Nigerian defence stood tall, brilliantly clearing the Argentinian attempts.

Romero came close to scoring, but his effort was cleared to a corner, and Carboni’s header missed the target.

In the end, Nigeria held on to their two-goal lead and secured a historic victory over the host nation.

The Nigerian players celebrated joyously, knowing they made history by eliminating the most successful team — Argentina — from the tournament and advancing to the quarterfinals.

Having survived Italy, Brazil and now Argentina, the Flying Eagles can hope to go all the way now as they gun to become just the second African team after Ghana to win the cadet World Cup

PT

Remember as a child when you were told "if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all?" Well that piece of advice is actually really relevant when it comes to managing a team as well. 

And as anyone who has ever managed a group of people knows, it can be difficult at times with different personalities and work styles to get everyone on the same page and ensure that everyone feels like they are being heard and respected. 

But when it comes to emotional and social intelligence you can never go wrong as a manager when you act with extreme civility. It sounds like a no-brainer, be civil to your teammates. But you would be amazed at how many times we get this wrong as leaders.  

Common courtesy or acting with respect for the other person and acting with a sense of kindness where possible is a skill that we all need to learn.  

Be Nice But Hold People Accountable

Now leading with kindness doesn't mean that we don't hold people accountable. But where we're able to, we can show some grace along the way. We can show some honesty in our communication. We can show some humility in how we treat them when they stumble.  

Those are all things that will make a person feel valued within an organization, and all things that are within your grasp as a leader. But does civility really matter that much? 

There was a wonderful study that was reported in the Harvard Business Review titled The Price of Incivility by Christine Porath and Christine Pearson, and in that article they shared some really frightening statistics.  

• They said that 48% of workers who were on the receiving end of incivility, intentionally decreased their work effort. They stopped trying so hard at work.
• They also cited that 47% of those affected intentionally spent less time at work.
• 38% of workers intentionally decreased the quality of their work.
• And 66% of those individuals say that they performed worse overall and their performance declined.
• 78% of those workers said they became less committed to the company overall and it's vision.
• And 12% just up and quit because of that treatment.
• And 25% admitted to taking out their frustrations on customers and clients.

People Don't Quite Jobs, They Quit Managers

And whether you know it or not, this is happening in businesses all over the country, possibly even yours. There's an expression that says people don't quit companies. People don't quit jobs. They quit bad managers.  

So a little bit of extreme civility goes a long way in keeping your team engaged and production. Remembering to say please and thank you goes a long way these days. 

I have met a lot of younger managers in particular who think that it's trendy and cool to be your authentic self. Which means, cursing, yelling or swearing to make a point with their team. That they think that showing their emotions to their team, makes them connect. 

But in reality, if those actions and words are based in kindness and respect they will likely fall short of their intended consequences. We can always do things with social grace, while still being direct and respectful. Your team deserves as much. 

Inc

The first full day in power of Nigeria's new president has seen people panic-buying fuel following his decision to scrap a decades-long subsidy on petroleum products.

In Monday's inaugural address, Bola Tinubu said the subsidy was "gone".

But he gave no timeframe or any more details of this major policy move.

On Tuesday, his team clarified that he meant the end of June and that the panic buying was "needless", as the policy will not take immediate effect.

Tinubu wants to ease pressure on government finances, but ending the subsidy will increase the cost of petrol and hit other prices too, at a time when inflation is already high.

In response to his comments on Monday, many filling stations hiked the petrol price, while others stopped selling altogether.

Nigeria's state-owned oil company, the sole importer of petroleum products, assured the public that it had enough supplies.

But this did not prevent the panic-buying, with most people fearing a drastic rise in the price of petrol, which should be sold at the regulated price of N185 per litre.

Some people have posted videos online of filling stations already increasing prices, in some cases by more than 200%.

Some drivers of private buses, which many Nigerians rely on to get around, have also been unable to fill up their vehicles.

This has left people stranded at major bus stops in the capital, Abuja, and the country's biggest city, Lagos.

Despite its oil wealth, Nigeria is unable to refine enough crude to meet local demands, so it imports petroleum products, which are then sold at a government-set price.

But the subsidy is a huge drain on public finances. Last year, it gulped N4.3trn and for the first half of this year, N3.36trn was budgeted for it.

On Monday, Tinubu said It could no longer be justified and that the funds would instead be spent on public infrastructure and to improve the lives of people.

But the subsidy has long been seen by many Nigerians as one of the few perks they receive from the state.

The last attempt to remove it in 2012 led to nationwide protests and then President Goodluck Jonathan had to perform a policy U-turn.

So far, a powerful association of those who sell petroleum products has come out to say it does not support Tinubu's plan. It said the new government should begin a dialogue before taking the decision.

Spokesman of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, Ukadike Chinedu, is quoted by Punch newspaper as saying that the move will cause "galloping inflation and inflict more hardship on the masses".

BBC

Nigeria's sovereign dollar-denominated bonds rallied on Tuesday after new President Bola Tinubu said at his swearing-in that a costly fuel subsidy would be removed and the central bank should work towards a unified exchange rate.

Rating agency Moody's said Tinubu's readiness to confront these issues was "credit positive" but warned they risked a transitional period of higher inflation, weaker economic activity and more social discontent.

Eurobonds rose as much as 3 cents in the dollar, with the 2029 maturity at 87.25 cents by 1251 GMT. Its yield of 11.43% was the lowest since the end of January.

The naira currency hit record lows against the U.S. dollar on forward markets, with the three-month forward at 564 naira to 1 dollar , while Nigerian stocks rose 4% to a more than two-month high.

Tinubu, whose victory is being disputed in court by his main rivals, inherits record debt, foreign exchange and fuel shortages, a nearly two-decade-high inflation rate, poor power supply and falling oil production due to crude theft and underinvestment.

"The market is positive about the new president and the reform plans," said Tajudeen Ibrahim, director of research at Nigerian investment firm Chapel Hill Denham.

Getting rid of the fuel subsidy, which cost $9.7 billion in 2022, reforming the foreign exchange market so profits can be repatriated, and raising tax revenues are all priorities for international investors, many of whom have pulled out of Nigeria in recent years.

However, Tinubu's announcement at his swearing-in on Monday lacked details.

The 2023 budget provides for the subsidy until June 30.

"There is, however, likely to be a supplementary budget to accommodate for higher spending this year," Netherlands-based Yvette Babb, a portfolio manager at William Blair Investment Management, said.

"This could technically accommodate additional spending on, for example, fuel subsidies, if this latest commitment proves too unpopular and or takes more time to implement."

Tinubu enacting his election pledges "will underpin investor confidence", South African research firm ETM Analytics said in a note.

Nigeria's debt office said on Tuesday it would sell a new 30-year bond on the local market next month to extend maturity and boost the government's domestic borrowing.

Reuters

Labour Party on Tuesday called its first witness in the ongoing petition between its candidate, Peter Obi, and the ruling All Progressives Congress and the President, Bola Tinubu.

Counsel for the LP and Obi, Jibrin Okutepa, stated that documents from number one to four together with receipts tendered are documents where the vice president, Kashim Shettima, accepted his nomination as the vice-presidential candidate of the APC.

The witness, Lawrence Nwakaeti, who is a legal practitioner, disclosed that he was deposed to the witness statement on March 20, 2023.

Part of the documents deposed to by Nwakaeti referred to the alleged $460,000 forfeiture by Tinubu to the government of the United States.

One of the grounds on which the LP and Obi are praying for the court to nullify Tinubu’s victory is that the president, Tinubu “at the time of the election was not qualified to contest for election to the office of President as he was fined $460,000 for an offence involving dishonesty, namely narcotics trafficking imposed by the United States District Court, Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division, in Case No: 93C 4483.”

While answering questions during the cross-examination, the witness admitted that the judgment was not registered in Nigeria.

He also admitted that there was no certificate from any consular in Nigeria or America in support of the judgment.

He, however, maintained that “the judgment speaks for itself.”

APC counsel, Lateef Fagbemi, asked, “As a lawyer, you are aware that these documents are not registered in Nigeria and there is no certificate attached to the document from the US?” to which Lawrence replied that there are certificates.

“Is there a certificate from the US consular?”

“No certificate from the consular,” Nwakaeti replied.

He also said he had no knowledge of a February 4, 2003, Formal Clearance Report by Legal Attachee from the American Embassy in respect of the alleged indictment and forfeiture.

When asked by Fagbemi to produce a copy of the charges against Tinubu, the witness said he had none but maintained that the forfeiture are from civil proceedings.

“You are aware that all the proceedings were civil proceedings?”

“Civil forfeiture proceedings,” the witness replied.

Meanwhile, the Presiding Justice of the Court, Haruna Simon Tsammani shifted further hearing in the petition till May 31.

Punch

Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, on Tuesday, tendered tons of electoral documents before the Presidential Election Petition Court in Abuja where he is challenging President Bola Tinubu’s victory in the February 25 election.

Atiku is prosecuting a petition seeking to upturn Tinubu’s victory on account of substantial non-compliance with the Electoral Act 2022 and the constitution, among other complaints.

Nigeria’s electoral commission, INEC, declared Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as Nigeria’s president-elect on 1 March, after he defeated Atiku who came second in the race.

Another petition by the candidate who came third in the election, Peter Obi of the Labour Party, is also pending before the court. The third petition was filed by a party, the Allied Peoples’ Movement (APM), which polled inconsequential number of votes in the election.

Tinubu was sworn in as Nigeria’s president on Monday, while aggrieved parties continue pursuing their separate cases to challenge his victory.

Atiku and the PDP jointly filed a petition before the court against Tinubu, the Vice President Kashim Shettima, the APC, and INEC.

In aid of their suit, the petitioners Tuesday presented tons of electoral documents comprising data from the Bimodal Voters Accreditation System (BVAS) machines that were deployed for the conduct of the 25 February presidential election.

At the beginning of hearing on Tuesday, Atiku’s lawyer, Eyitayo Jegede, tendered printouts of data from the BVAS machines comprising polling units results sheets from the 36 states of the country and Abuja.

Jegede informed the five-member panel of the court chaired by Haruna Tsammani that the documents were certified true copies of the data obtained from the BVAS machines.

The lawyer also tendered records of collected permanent voters cards from the electoral umpire.

Earlier, Jegede tendered the final results of the presidential election that declared Tinubu president-elect.

Owing to the agreement reached by the lawyers to parties in the suit not to object to official documents obtained from INEC, respondents’ lawyers – Wole Olanipekun (for Tinubu), Lateef Fagbemi for APC, and INEC’s Abubakar Mahmoud did not object to the documents.

Thereafter, the suit was adjourned until Wednesday for further hearing.

PT

President Bola Tinubu has asked the Department of State Services (DSS) to vacate the office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission in Ikoyi, Lagos, immediately.

DSS had laid siege to the office of the anti-graft agency on Tuesday morning. EFCC officials were reportedly prevented from accessing their office.

Later, operatives of the secret police moved in two Armoured Personnel Carriers to block the main entrance of the building.

It was learnt that the feud arose from a rivalry between the both agencies over the ownership of the building.

Spokesman of the anti-graft agency, Wilson Uwujaren, when contacted, described the development as “strange”, explaining that the two agencies had lived together within the facility for over 20 years without any rancor.

But in a swift reaction, spokesman of the DSS, Peter Afunanya told our correspondent that the property in question belonged to the service, and as such it is not correct to say its operatives barricaded EFCC office.

But in a statement which Tunde Rahman, his spokesman, issued on his behalf on Tuesday evening, Tinubu said the issue between both agencies would be resolved amicably.

“President Tinubu has directed the Department of State Security Service to immediately vacate the office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission in Ikoyi, Lagos.

“The President gave the directive when reports that DSS officials stormed the EFCC office located on Awolowo Road, Ikoyi, Lagos on Tuesday, preventing officials of the anti-graft agency from accessing their work place, was brought to his attention.

“The President said if there were issues between the two important agencies of government, they would be resolved amicably.”

Daily Trust

Moscow intends to deliver a shipment of Russian fertilizers to Nigeria free of charge in the near future, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Tuesday at a press conference following his visit to Burundi.

"Last September, President [Vladimir] Putin announced that we were ready to deliver 300,000 tons of our fertilizers, illegally seized in EU ports, to African countries free of charge. Fully in line with colonial practices and habits, the EU leadership blocked this initiative. It took us 6 months to get at least the first shipment of 20,000 tons to Malawi, and just recently another shipment of a similar amount of fertilizer was delivered to Kenya. The same shipment is scheduled to go to Nigeria soon," he said.

All of this comes at the cost of enormous efforts by the World Food Program and UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres to "overcome the openly Russophobic position of EU members who oppose any initiatives that in one way or another will help developing countries, if such assistance is provided by the Russian side."

Tass

Osun State High Court has found the popular hotel owner, Ramon Adedoyin guilty in the murder case of Timothy Adegoke, a former master’s degree student of the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, whose death occurred between November 5 and 7, 2021, at Hilton Honours Hotel, Ile-Ife.

Osun Chief Judge, Adepele Ojo, while delivering her judgement on the case, held that the circumstantial evidence available to the court, pointed to the killing of Adegoke while being a guest at the hotel owned by Adedoyin.

According to her, Adedoyin’s decision not to enter the witness box did not help him, as the circumstantial evidence had shifted the burden of proof on him.

Ojo also said Adedoyin’s decision not to enter the witness box meant he agreed to the murder charge pressed against him by the prosecution, dismissing the alibi pleaded on his behalf by his counsel, who said the hotel owner was in Abuja for many days around the time the death of the late Adegoke occurred.

Punch

Nigeria Association of Social Workers (NASoW) has urged President Bola Tinubu to appoint a qualified Social Worker as the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development in the interest of the nation.

The association said this is necessary because it is the main ministry that has core mandate to promote social work and quality social  services delivery in the country. 

NASoW made these disclosures in a message addressed to Tinubu on his swearing in as the 16th President of Nigeria. 

NASoW in a statement signed by its National President, Mashood Mustapha, said  appointment of a social worker who has the required knowledge and skills to paddle the affairs of the ministry will go a long way to promote the humanitarian agenda of the new administration .

Mustapha in the statement made available to journalists through the National Public Relations Officer of the association, Musliudeen Adebayo, said the association is ready and fully prepared to work with the new administration in order to achieve its aims in all areas of human development. 

He added that the association is enjoining Tinubu to appoint someone who is a social worker  because of the ministry's strategic importance to the welfare of the citizens which is the main goal of this administration.

Mustapha added that the Nigerian Council for Social Work [Establishment ] Act, 2022 which was signed and gazetted during the tenure of President Muhammadu Buhari was one of the gains of the association during the last administration. 

He encouraged Tinubu to set another record by appointing a qualified social worker as minister for humanitarian affairs, disaster management and social development. 

He added that the association is also anxiously waiting for the time when the Nigerian Council for Social Work would be constituted. 

"We are using this medium to congratulate our new President, Tinubu on his emergence as the President of Federal Republic of Nigeria. 

"We appeal to the new President to appoint a social worker as the minster for humanitarian affairs, disaster management and social development. This is our ministry. It is the main ministry for social workers  

"We advise the President to put a round peg in a round hole for the betterment of the country. Someone who has the required knowledge and skills in humanitarian work, disaster management and social development.

"We are also waiting for the time when the Nigerian Council for Social Work would be constituted. We are expecting the new President to appoint a minister who has the required knowledge of Social Work as we expect the minster to constitute the board as soon as possible. 

"The Nigerian Council for Social Work [Establishment] Act 2022 has been gazetted. Our law has become act of parliament, this implies that a lot of good things are coming for the good people of Nigeria. The council is yet to be constituted, and when this is done, it will help to give more recognition to social work practice in Nigeria.   

"The establishment of the council will create job opportunities and enabling environment for social workers to provide the much desired quality social services to the people of Nigeria and reduce the migration of social workers to other countries in quest for prosperity", he said.