The talk is to design a new blueprint aimed at repositioning Nigerian football as a catalyst for job creation, unity and sustainable national development.

Professor Yilwatda was part of the Federal Government of Nigeria’s official delegation to Morocco during the 2025 AFCON, where he joined Nigerians at home and abroad in rallying support for the Super Eagles.

The visit came at a historic moment, as the national team finished strongly to clinch third place at the continental tournament, rekindling national pride and unity.

Beyond supporting the team, Professor Yilwatda used the opportunity to engage in high-level strategic engagements aimed at redefining the future of Nigerian football as a catalyst for national development.

On the sidelines of AFCON in Rabat, a landmark strategy session was convened to explore how Nigeria can deliberately harness football to promote unity, create jobs for young people, and build sustainable sports infrastructure across the country.

The session, facilitated by the Director General of the National Directorate of Employment, NDE, Mr Silas Ali Agara, brought together a powerful mix of political leadership, global football diplomacy and technical expertise.

It was driven by a shared objective: to adapt lessons from Morocco’s widely acclaimed sports development model into a practical Nigerian framework that delivers measurable outcomes.

At the heart of the discussions was the recognition that Morocco’s football success was the result of long-term planning, coherent policy choices and sustained investment.

Drawing from the experience, the team agreed on the need for a Nigerian adaptation that goes beyond match results to focus on the full sports economy.

This includes job creation through stadium construction and maintenance, facility management, coaching development, sports administration, technology, and other allied sectors capable of absorbing thousands of young Nigerians.

Professor Yilwatda will provide the political leadership and policy direction required to drive the ambitious vision, while Mr Agara will spearhead the execution, ensuring that the strategy translates into real employment opportunities and skills development for the youths.

FIFA Council Member and CAF leader, Amaju Melvin Pinnick, will contribute global insight and access to international technical support, while policy and technology expert, Esebamen Clement, will lead the design of a data-driven and implementable framework to guide the initiative.

A key outcome of the Rabat engagement was the emphasis on collaboration with state governments, particularly through the Progressive Governors Forum.

Under the proposed framework, governors are expected to serve as the primary drivers of sports infrastructure development and grassroots talent cultivation within their respective states, ensuring nationwide impact and sustainability.

Professor Yilwatda reaffirmed that football, when properly structured and supported, could serve as a powerful instrument for national unity, youth empowerment and economic growth.

He stressed that the APC remained committed to innovative governance and the adoption of global best practices that place young Nigerians at the centre of development planning.

The Rabat engagement marked a decisive step away from rhetoric towards a clear package of actions, signalling a new approach to sports development, one that positions football not just as a game, but as a strategic platform for jobs, unity and national renewal.

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The second phase, which is the Atlantic Conference, will end on September 1, 2025.

The Chairperson of the Women Basketball Premier League, Perpetua Clement, confirmed the federation’s readiness to adhere to the dates.

According to Perpetua Clement, necessary machinery has been put in place for a hitch-free completion at the Atlantic Conference of the Women League, with the Savannah Conference billed for Jos, the Plateau State capital.

In the 1st phase which took place in Benin, defending Champions, Mountain of Fire and Miracle Ministries Basketball team and First Bank, had a good run against others like Dolphins, Bayelsa Blue Whales, and First Deep Waters.

In the Savannah Conference, Air Warriors and Plateau Rocks are the high fliers in a group which also has Customs, Kada Angels, HAM Warriors, Titans, Royal Aces and Nasarawa Amazons.

The Savannah Conference second Phase also starts on Monday in Jos.

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The sponsor of the league, Zenith Bank, has assured stakeholders that the organisation is ready to continue its commitment to the development of the game in Nigeria.

Group Managing Director and CEO of Zenith Bank, Dame Adaora Umeoji, stated that the sponsors were always proud of the league which over the years had produced results for Nigeria.

“We look forward to the second phase because that is where the finalists will emerge. We are working towards making the tournament better every year,” Umeoji said in a statement.

The NBBF President, Musa Kida, confirmed that the final 8 billed for Lagos in which the best eight teams from the two conferences will vie for the title, will hold between September 14 and 18, 2025.

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Details of the incident are contained in a statement signed by Amotekun’s Head of Communications, Adewale Adeleye, and made available to newsmen on Tuesday in Ekiti.

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According to the statement, the suspect, who hails from Akure, Ondo State, committed the act at her residence in Efon-Alaaye during a scuffle with her son over an undisclosed issue.

Adeleye said the suspect allegedly confessed to the crime, claiming it was meant as punishment for her son’s repeated wrongdoings.

He, however, added that the suspect had been handed over to the Efon-Ekiti Police Division for further investigation, while the injured boy was receiving treatment at an undisclosed hospital in the town.

Source: NAN

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Chukwuemeka was arrested on Tuesday, October 3, during the inward clearance of passengers on Ethiopian Airlines flight 951 from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and taken for body scan, which revealed multiple pellets in his stomach.

While under observation, he excreted a total of 100 wraps of cocaine weighing 2.195 kilograms in four excretions.

In his statement, he claimed to have spent 30 years in Brazil, Ethiopia and Thailand, while he was once married, but lost his wife and without a child.

He added that was why he decided to go into drug trafficking to raise enough money to marry a new wife and start life afresh.

On the same day, NDLEA operatives at the Malam Aminu Kano International Airport, MAKIA, Kano, intercepted a 45-year-old woman, Bilkisu Mohammed Bello, while preparing to board a Saudia Airlines flight to Saudi Arabia.

While being interviewed, she confessed that pellets of cocaine given to her to swallow before her flight were kept in a house in Farawa area of Kano.

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When she led NDLEA officers to the house, 52 wraps of the illicit substance with a total weight of 767grams were recovered.

Meanwhile, NDLEA operatives supported by officers and men of the Nigerian Army, Civil Defence Corps and Amotekun personnel on Tuesday, October 3, stormed James town, in Ogunmakin, Obafemi Owode local government area of Ogun State where they located and destroyed 10.38 tonnes of cannabis sativa covering over 4.152 hectares.

While on their way back from the operation, the team also intercepted a truck marked FS548XN carrying a 40ft container loaded with logs of wood.

A search of the container led to the recovery of two bags of cannabis sativa weighing 20kgs while six suspects: Ahmed Yusuf, Olaniyi Babatunde, Adedeji Babatunde, Richard John, Osolale Olamilekan and Abdulazeez Saied, in the truck were arrested.

In the same vein, operatives on Sunday, October 1, raided Obi camp in Owan West local government area of Edo State, where 30 sacks of skunk weighing 300kgs and concealed in charcoal were evacuated from an old dilapidated mud house.

Similarly, two cannabis farms measuring 1.179065 hectares at Igbanke forest in Orhiowon local government area of the state were identified and destroyed on Friday, October 6, while four suspects – Tersoo Zaria, 28; Ifeanyi Osai, 53; Moses David, 19, and Daniel Gabriel, 20 – were arrested.

In Gombe State, a suspect, Auwal Bindow was arrested on Friday, October 6, along Bauchi – Gombe road with 50,000 capsules of tramadol, while in Oyo State, NDLEA operatives on patrol along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway nabbed Anuoluwapo Blessing Iyanu, 32, with 52 blocks of compressed pawpaw shaped cannabis sativa weighing 30kgs on Wednesday 4th October.

With the same vigour, the various commands of the agency across the country continued with the War Against Drug Abuse, WADA, advocacy campaign in the past week.

Some of them include: WADA sensitisation lecture for students and teachers of Igbonnibi High School, Ila Orangun, Osun state; WADA sensitisation lecture at Royal Ambassador Secondary School, Makurdi, Benue state; WADA sensitization lecture at Ilora Baptist Grammar School, Ilora, Oyo state and LGA WADA sensitisation lecture for students of Beth-Root Model Secondary School, Onitsha, Anambra State.

While commending the officers and men of the NAIA, MAKIA, Ogun, Oyo, Edo, and Gombe Commands of the Agency for their outstanding feats in the past week, Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retd) equally applauded their counterparts in all the commands across the country for intensifying their WADA advocacy lectures thus creating a fair balance between their drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction activities.

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