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Expect the best of Beach Soccer in Kebbi says Alh. Shuaibu Aliero

Published

4 years ago

October 6, 2022

Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of youth and Sports Development in Kebbi State Alhaji Shuaibu Aliero has declared that the city of Birnin-Kebbi is ready to host the 2022 Nigeria Beach Soccer League Super 4 Finals which kick off tomorrow at the Race Course in Birnin-Kebbi.

He said this at press briefing earlier today that the government of the day has put so much key interest in the game of Beach Soccer to see it growing places since the game was introduced as far back 2015 to the people of Kebbi state.

” I want to first of all thank the Government of Governor Atiku Bagudu for keying into the vision of beach soccer which today has gone a long way as one major facet that promote our darling state to the world, I will also want to appreciate our son Mr Mahmud Hadejia who today is the President of Africa Beach Soccer Union (ABSU) and National Coordinator of the NBSL for pushing the dream of beach soccer to us through the thick and thin, he didn’t relent and that why we are here today hosting the NBSL Super 4 Finals in Kebbi”.

Alh. Aleiro when asked about what government is doing to make sure that Kebbi State has a proper beach soccer pitch, maintained that for the dream to come through, it takes the Government to add it to the budget of the state.
” I was in Kaduna for the Super 4 Finals last year and I saw the way the government carved out a place to create the pitch for Beach Soccer, it’s doable for the government and looking that we have the best team in Africa in our state but you know that it must be added to the budget of the government before the ministry can then be assigned to create it”.

He therefore called on the people of Kebbi to come out in their numbers to see the best of the game that will be played during the 3 days NBSL Super 4 Finals to make it a memorable finals.

“The beach soccer tournament when it comes to Kebbi is like a festival and I want to use this medium to encourage everyone including the press men here to pass the message of Beach Soccer to the everyone in the nun and crannies of Kebbi for us to have a final that will be remember in a long time”.

Other dignitaries who was present at the press conference are National Coordinator of the Nigeria Beach Soccer League Mr Mahmud Hadejia, Special Adviser on Media to the Governor of Kebbi State on Alhaji Yahaya Seriki, FIFA Beach Soccer Instructor Mr Sunday Orkai and many more.

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

Published

4 hours 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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