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2020 NPFL/LaLiga U-15 Coaching Seminar Get 4th-7th February Date In Abuja

Published

7 years ago

January 25, 2020

Joel Ajayi

All is now set for the 4^th editions of Nigeria Professional Football League NPFL/Laliga U-15 as the tournament will commence 4th to 7th February with Workshop for Coaches of the 20 clubs of the (NPFL) and other invitees.

This year’s workshop which will hold at the MKO Abiola Stadium, will as in the past three editions, be facilitated by Coaching Instructors from LaLiga, this time, Diego Gutierrez Ramos, and Enrique Brisach Felipe.

Ramos who is the lead instructor holds a UEFA Professional license, a Master’s degree in Physical Education and Sports, and a Post Graduate degree in Football Analysis, while Felip holds a UEFA A license and a Master’s degree in High-Performance Team Sports.

Speaking on the Seminar, Chairman of the League Management Company (LMC), Malam Shehu Dikko said it is in fulfillment of the technical partnership of the Spanish League and its Nigerian counterpart which has seen huge development and progress since it’s signing in 2016.

“We have had an NPFL All-Star team playing tour of Spain where they played Valencia, Malaga and Atletico Madrid as well as seminars for club administrators and media officers”, Dikko remarked.

He continued, “In 2017, we also had the NPFL U-17 All-Star travel to South Africa to play in the Future Champions tournament and in 2018 we had Athletico Madrid coming to play Super Eagles B team in Uyo”

“So, we have over the years had several technical support from LaLiga in our quest to add value to the NPFL and we are always appreciative of this support from LaLiga”, the LMC Chairman further stated

Also Speaking, LaLiga Global Network delegate to Nigeria, Guillermo Perez reiterated LaLiga’s commitment to the development of football in Nigeria.

‘The U-15 project is an important one for us, this is the fourth edition and we have trained almost 300 youth coaches and over 900kids have played in the main tournament, with last year’s most valuable player traveling to Spain to train with Malaga CF for ten days.

We will continue to play our part to aid the development of football in Nigeria through our partnership with the LMC and our other strategic partners’.

The Coaching seminar which serves as a precursor to the main U-15 Promises tournament has seen almost 300 youth coaches trained since its inception in 2017.

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Alake Inaugurates Nigeria-US Solid Minerals Committee, Dismisses $700bn Claim, Says No Assets Sold

Published

5 days ago

October 28, 2026

The Gleamer

Joel Ajayi

The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Dele Alake, on Tuesday inaugurated the Nigeria-United States Committee on Strategic Cooperation in the Solid Minerals Sector in Abuja, dismissing reports that Nigeria sold $700 billion worth of solid minerals to the US.

The inauguration followed the strategic cooperation framework established between Nigeria and the United States during the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York.

In a statement issued on Wednesday by the Head PRESS and Public Relations Department Mrs. Kania Maliki Andeyaba stated that, Alake in the Memorandum of Understanding, MoU, signed with the US is a government-to-government platform to facilitate business-to-business engagements between American investors and Nigerian local operators, not a sale of assets.

Harping on the importance of the solid minerals sector to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s economic diversification agenda, he noted that the administration was committed to reducing dependence on a mono-product economy through the sustainable development of Nigeria’s vast mineral resources.

According to him, the Nigeria–US partnership as a strategic initiative to attract investment, promote technology transfer, strengthen local mineral processing and create employment opportunities.

“There is no sale of any Nigerian asset. There’s nothing exchanging hands,” Alake declared.

“We created a platform to facilitate mingling of US investment ventures with Nigeria’s local operators. It is in the public domain. We signed it in public and published it in four or five national newspapers.”

The Minister said reports claiming the US was coming to take over Nigeria’s minerals and security architecture were untrue at best and products of riotous imagination at worst.

Explaining the policy thrust, Alake said Africa has historically held the short end of the stick in global economic transactions, and Nigeria is determined to change that model.

“We have the resources, the critical elements the world needs to transit to clean energy. So we are creating a new paradigm — you bring your capital, expertise and technology, to match with our natural resources and create a win-win situation . The investor gains, Nigeria gains.’’he said.

Nigeria, he stressed, had operated a mono-cultural economy dependent on oil, while solid minerals were exploited informally — with ores taken “from pit to port” without value addition.

Alake said government has now made local processing mandatory, refusing to grant mineral titles to investors without a clear pathway to processing in Nigeria.

He said the policy led to the springing up of processing factories, including the largest lithium processing plant in West Africa commissioned recently in Nasarawa by the Vice President, and informed the formation of the African Minerals Strategy Group.

Alake noted that investor confidence has returned due to macro-economic reforms by President Bola Tinubu that guarantee security of tenure and repatriation of profits.

He charged the committee to discharge its assignment responsibly, saying its work is strategic to achieving the President’s $1 trillion economy target.

To this end, he told the Committee to ensure effective coordination, identify investment opportunities and translate the framework into measurable outcomes capable of positioning Nigeria as a competitive player in the global solid minerals industry.

In his welcome address, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Engr. Faruk Yusuf Yabo, said the inauguration translates growing bilateral engagements into a structured framework for practical cooperation and investment mobilization

Economic Officer at the US Embassy, Jonathan Baas, said President Donald Trump has prioritized three areas for US embassies — energy, artificial intelligence/super intelligence, and critical minerals.

Baas said Washington’s direction is to work with partners to secure critical supply chains while ensuring partners capture value.

“We just signed a contract today on looking into building AI data centres in Nigeria at the Nigerian Economic Summit. That’s the direction Washington wants us to go,” he said.

In his vote of thanks, CEO/Managing Director of Nigeria Solid Minerals Company, NSMC said that the committee

is expected to coordinate implementation, facilitate investment and monitor progress towards achieving the objectives of the Nigeria–US cooperation framework.

The inauguration reinforces the Federal Government’s commitment to repositioning the solid minerals sector as a key driver of economic diversification, industrial development and national prosperity under President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.

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