Messi And Neymar Miss Out, Mbappe Shine As Coman Slays PSG Again

 Kingsley Coman repeated his 2020 Champions League final heroics as Bayern Munich beat Paris St-Germain in their last 16 first-leg tie.

It was a night to forget for the French giants, as they struggled to find a way into the game until Kylian Mbappe's introduction after half time and went behind after a goalkeeping error from Gianluigi Donnarumma let Kingsley Coman's shot in.

Lionel Messi and Neymar whom rate 4 and 3 respectively vastly improved once Kylian Mbappé was on the pitch, but his impact on the game in the preceding hour was negligible

The PSG players acknowledged their poor showing after the game, as Neymar and Messi took the players to the club's ultras to offer a meek apology and thank them for their support.

Paris Saint Germain will now need to beat Bayern at the Allianz Arena next month if they are to advance in Europe.

Sammie Okposo’s Wife, Ozioma Celebrates Him On Valentine’s Day

 Ozioma, the wife of late gospel singer, Sammie Okposo, has restated her love for her late husband on Valentine's Day, IGBERETV reports.

Sammie Okposo’s wife shared pictures of herself and her husband on her Instagram page on Tuesday.

She wrote, 

“Dim oma..My King.. I loved you in life, love you still.. I know Christ has you in His arms, I have you in my heart. I miss you terribly. Keep resting, my love until forever ❤”

10 Days To Go: No Cash Yet For Elections - INEC

 Ten days to the February 25 presidential and National Assembly election, cash for the mobilisation of ad-hoc staff for the polls is yet to be made available to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Daily Trust reports. 

Nigerians have been battling with the scarcity of naira notes following the redesign of N200, N500 and N1000 notes by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court will today continue hearing the suits by three state governments challenging the implementation of the currency swap deadline.

The Supreme Court had on February 8 restrained the federal government from enforcing the cash swap deadline of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) following the suit by the governments of Kaduna, Kogi and Zamfara states challenging the currency policy. 

The Chairman of INEC, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, had penultimate Tuesday met with the governor of the CBN, Godwin Emefiele, where he requested concessions regarding the naira redesign policy with specific reference to the limitations placed on cash withdrawals and the need to make some cash available for some peculiarities that cannot be met with electronics transfer of monies. 

Emefiele had while responding, said he would ensure the CBN is not seen as an agent used to thwart the forthcoming general election, assuring that the apex bank would provide INEC needed naira notes as required. 

But, an indication emerged that the new notes have not been made available to the electoral body ahead of the election when the Resident Electoral Commissioner for the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Alhaji Yahaya Bello, raised the issue.

Bello said the ability of the INEC to conduct the general election may be hampered by the CBN’s cashless policy.

Speaking in Abuja at the North-Central stakeholders’ roundtable on the 2023 general elections, organised by the Centre for Transparency Advocacy (CTA), he said the commission needs cash to enable it to coordinate security and logistics, and that the scarcity of the naira may affect this. 

He said that if nothing was done to address the cash crunch caused by the policies, INEC in the FCT and across the country would find it difficult to deploy staff and materials for the election as most of the services required cash to obtain. 

He, however, said that apart from the cash challenge, the commission was prepared for the elections as it had taken delivery of 80 per cent of materials for the polls and trained staff ahead of the February 25 and March 11 elections.

How To Deposit Old ₦‎1000, ₦‎500 And ₦‎200 Notes At The CBN

 GUIDELINES TO DEPOSIT OLD NGN1000, NGN500 AND NGN200 NOTES AT THE CBN

• Please note that this is a Cash Deposit Program not a Cash Swap Program. 

You will not be issued new notes In exchange for old notes, instead your bank account will be credited after your account is validated by law enforcement. 

This process may take up to 4 weeks. 

• If the validation of account turns out negative, the Bank will return the deposited notes

• Third party deposits are not allowed, The account information provided must be that of the depositor. 

• Members of the public are required to complete an online application form and generate a reference number before coming to the CON. 

Where a customer did not pre-fill their form, he/she will be given the opportunity to fill the form at the Branch. 

• The Cash Deposit Window Is open to the public from February 15 — 17, 2023 between 9am to 2pm daily. 

REQUIREMENTS 

1. Reference cede generated from completed online application form fill on CBN Portal. 

2 An active Deposit money Bank account e.g. Access, Zenith, GT, Keystone Banks. 

3. A bank Verification Number (BVN) 

4. A valid Federal Government issued identity card (NIN, Driver's License, Voters Card, International Passport). 

Belgian Goalkeeper Espeel Collapses, Dies After Saving Penalty

 Belgian goalkeeper Arne Espeel collapsed and died during a match while playing for Belgian side Winkel Sport B.

The 25-year-old goalkeeper collapsed on the pitch straight after saving a penalty against Westrozebeke at Sint-Eloois-Winkel, West Flanders Province.

Emergency ran onto the pitch to try to resuscitate the goalkeeper, using a defibrillator but it was too late.

Shortly after he was taken to the hospital, Espeel was confirmed dead.

The club in a statement expressed sadness and sorrow and condoled the player’s family and friends.

“Winkel Sport is in very deep mourning at the sudden passing of goalkeeper Arne Espeel,” the club stated.

Naira Scarcity: I Don’t Have N20,000 Cash As Monarch — Oluwo

 The Oluwo of Iwo, Oba Abdurosheed Akanbi has disclosed that the current cash crunch in the country has deeply affected the daily running of his palace as he cannot afford N20,000 cash.

He wondered how the ordinary Nigerian will cope with the current economic hardship, urging the Federal Government to shower love on Nigerians by reducing the present suffering owing to the naira redesign policy. 

Oluwo while speaking at the valentine’s celebration for the less privileged in Iwoland on Tuesday at his palace berated the country’s elite for not showing love to the common man.

He called on President Muhammadu Buhari to use the love season to prevail on the Central Bank Governor, Godwin Emefiele to make available new naira notes to ameliorate the current suffering among Nigerians.

“There is nobody to show them (less privileged) love. Nigerians are not showing enough love to the underprivileged. They are special people. That is why I extend love to them every year. I do love my wife every day. For the people that don’t see love, we must extend love to them.

“I want to let them know that I am not just a King for the rich. I am a King for the poor and underprivileged. That is why I visit them in their homes at times. 

I believe that nobody should be deprived of love. Love is lost in Nigeria and I want the journey to start with me. Nobody else takes that step to return love. I will lead that example as a leader. 

“I hope the Federal Government can use this day to love the citizens more. Nigerians are suffering. 

As a King, I can not boast of N20,000 cash. If I owe the bank money, it will be accruing interest, but they are holding my money and no interest is given to me. Is that fair? 

“I don’t think Nigeria is developing. We can’t change money and take money out of the system. This is barbaric. Do we have leaders with what is happening to Nigeria?

“There is economic hardship before, now the people can’t access their monies. It is a despicable act to take money out of the system without bringing another one. It is inhumane. I believe they should change their way.  

"I am closer to the grassroots. It is difficult that you can not give your children money for school. This is not the Nigeria we want”

OBIdients Hold Door To Door Campaign In Borno State