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Hope, excitement In Vandeikya ias maiden Kunav Football League kicks off.

Published

7 years ago

March 7, 2020

…VLGFC urges cooperation.

Joel Ajayi

The people of Vandeikya Local Government of Benue State are in a joyous mood and full of expectation as they await the commencement of the maiden Kunav Football League (KFL) slated for Friday, 13th March 2020 at the Vandeikya Township Stadium by 3:00 pm.

The League, which is been organized by the Vandeikya Local Government Football Council (VLGFC) ably led by its Chairman, Mr. Bob Terry Akpenpuun will begin with a colorful opening ceremony preceding the opening match, including a march past by the twelve participating council ward teams, with other matches following in the other three centers of Tsar, Tsambe and Tse – Mker.

A statement by the Chairman, VLGFC, Mr. Akpenpuun says that the Kunav Football League (KFL), is put together by the Council to identify talents that will further be camped, trained and nurtured to stardom. He further stated that there will be a standing Kunav Team selected from the league as well as the Ter u Kunav Cup for the purpose of further training and tournaments involving other teams in Benue State.

“We are serious about selecting outstanding players from the league and Ter u Kunav Cup in order to form a good, standing Kunav football team that will represent Vandeikya LG in subsequent competitions, with the possibility for many making it to good clubs, at home and abroad,” he said.

The Chairman, VLGFC, who is also the Protocol Officer of Nigerian National Football Teams says the stage is set for the commencement of the league, assuring that all logistics for the smooth take-off of the league come next Friday have been put in place, informing that the Ter u Kunav Cup will also start in between the Kunav League.

He, therefore, calls on all Kunav sons and daughters to cooperate with VLGFC and be part of this epoch-making league that promises good organization, improved standard of play and better officiating.

“As partners in progress, I urge you, great sons and daughters of Kunavland to cooperate with us in this football project aimed at exposing these youngsters and giving the outstanding ones a better life that will impact the peace, progress, and development of Kunavland,” Bob says.

The chairman is full of appreciation to Traditional Rulers, the Local Government Council leadership, religious and community leaders for their approval and support as well as to other spirited Kunav sons and daughters who have already identified with the project through financial and material support. He enjoins others who are yet to join in the project to do so, while also calling on all to come out en-mass and watch the matches at the various centers.

“I believe that impossible is nothing and together we can do more..” The indefatigable Bob Terry concluded.

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

Published

3 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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