The announcement by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) of Portugal’s Jose Peseiro as the senior national team’s new manager yesterday is one of the trending stories in Nigerian newspapers on Thursday.
The Guardian reports that the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), yesterday, ended the speculations on who becomes Super Eagles head coach when it named Portugal’s Jose Peseiro as the senior national team’s new manager.
But the Federation announced that its technical director, Austin Eguavoen, who is currently Super Eagles interim coach, will lead the team to the Cameroon 2022 African Cup of Nations, with Peseiro joining the team to Cameroon as an observer.
In a communiqué issued after its executive committee meeting, yesterday, the NFF also announced that Austin Eguavoen, who was previously appointed as interim coach of the Super Eagles, will now revert to his role as the Federation’s technical director.
The NFF communiqué reads: “After careful consideration of a memo presented by chairman of the technical and development sub-committee, the executive committee endorsed a proposal for the appointment of Mr. Jose Peseiro as the new head coach of the Super Eagles, following the end to the relationship with Mr Gernot Rohr.
“However, the committee resolved that Mr. Augustine Eguavoen, named the interim head coach, will lead the Super Eagles to the AFCON 2021 in Cameroun with Mr. Peseiro only playing the role of observer.
“It was unanimously agreed that the AFCON is a good avenue for Mr. Peseiro to launch a working relationship with Mr. Eguavoen, who will revert to his role as technical director (hence Mr. Peseiro’s immediate boss) after the AFCON.”
The new Eagles coach, whose full name is José Vítor dos Santos Peseiro, was born on born April 4, 1960. After an unassuming career as a player, he went on to coach several clubs in his country, including Sporting CP, which he took to the 2005 UEFA Cup Final, and Porto. He also worked extensively in Arab nations, being in charge of the Saudi Arabian national team.
The newspaper says that the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has lamented the rising costs of goods and services that witnessed steady upward movement in the outgoing year.
Speaking through its President, Ayuba Wabba, the NLC warned the Federal Government against going ahead with its planned removal of subsidy on Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), popularly called ‘petrol,’ in 2022.
While applauding Nigerian masses’ perseverance, the Congress noted that 2021 was generally a year of speculations and increases in the prices of basic utilities.
It said: “2021 would be remembered as the year Nigerians were confronted with both speculation and the reality of increase in prices of essential and basic utilities, commodities and services including staple food items, cooking gas, cement and other building materials.
While we commend the government for ensuring a stable supply of petrol and a few other refined petroleum products, we are concerned that the proposed petrol price increase does not resonate with the spirit of Christmas.”
The Punch reports that the Federal Government’s bond offer and allotment rose by N1.99tn in the first six months of this year to N13.66tn, from the N11.67tn recorded in the corresponding period of last year.
The Financial Markets Department of the Central Bank of Nigeria disclosed this in its half-year activity report for 2021. It attributed the rise to government’s drive to fund fiscal deficit from the domestic market.
The report stated that, “In the review period, FGN bonds worth N900bn was offered, while public subscription and sale stood at N1.73tn and N1.42tn, respectively. The amount offered comprised new issues and re-openings of FGN bonds.
“In the corresponding period of 2020, FGN bonds issue, subscription and allotment were N615bn, N2.45tn and N1.31tn, respectively. The increase in offer and allotment in the first half of 2021 was attributable to the government’s drive to fund fiscal deficit from the domestic market.
Consequently, the total value of FGN bonds outstanding at end-June 2021 stood at N13.66tn, compared with N11.67tn at end-June 2020, indicating an increase of N1.99tn or 17.01 per cent.” The report stated that in the first half of 2021, there was no new issue of the Federal Republic of Nigeria Treasury Bonds.
The newspaper says that the Federal Government has stated that Nigeria has lost $5bn to gold smuggling activities in six years.
The Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Dr Uche Ogar, who made the disclosure at the State House on Wednesday, said the government had taken steps towards addressing the problem.
This came as President Muhammadu Buhari directed the Presidential Artisanal Gold Mining Development Initiative to submit a six-month progress report on the Solid Minerals Development Fund, designed to capture accruals from investments in the sector.
He also charged PAGMI to intensify operations in the mining sector by ensuring that investments go beyond artisanal and small-scale levels. Buhari spoke on Wednesday during a briefing by the Steering Committee and Management Team of PAGMI at the State House, Abuja.
The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, disclosed this in a statement titled, ‘Ramp up operations in solid minerals sector, President Buhari directs PAGMI, calls for six-month progress report.’ According to the President, all stakeholders should conclude the ongoing assignment of recommending a portion of accruals to be dedicated to the Solid Minerals Development Fund.
The Sun reports that President Muhammadu Buhari has promised to take appropriate measures to improve access to foreign exchange (forex) for importation of raw materials and machines that are not available locally.
Buhari stated this during an advocacy visit of the leadership of Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), led by its President, Mansur Ahmed, to the Presidential Villa on Wednesday.
Buhari, while reacting to requests on making the manufacturing sector contribute more to the economy, said the relevant Ministry would revisit their concerns about the increase in excise duties on the identified products and other tariff-related matters.
On the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), the president said Nigeria would fast track the process of setting up the Designated Competent Authority that will superintend the administration of Rules of Origin and Commission as well as the automation for issuance of electronic Certificate of Origin.
According to him, the Federal Government will also ensure that relevant structured platforms are established for monitoring and evaluation of the performance of the Ease of Doing Business and improved government patronage of made in Nigeria products.
The newspaper says that the fate of an estimated 11 million mobile telephone subscribers currently hangs in the balance as the December 31 deadline for the National Identity Number and Subscriber Identity Module (NIN-SIM) verification exercise approaches, with the Federal Government mum on any further extension.
This is as insecurity remained a cog in the wheel of progress as many rural communities still under terrorists and bandits’ siege and dreaded by officials handling the enrollment exercise.
Speaking on the memo he presented, Aliyu stated: “Today, I presented to the council 16 memos. Let me say what these approvals will do to the nation’s electricity supply. Going by industry records, only 180 million SIMs have been linked to NINs as at October, meaning that an extension is likely, if millions of subscribers are not to be left out of mobile telephony. According to the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), there were 229,582,206 connected lines in Nigeria in October, and only 191,618,839 lines were active.
GIK/APA