Nigeria to draw up shortlist for the Super Eagles coaching job by Friday

Nigeria have started the process of finding a new manager of the national team, according to the country's football federation.

The Super Eagles have been without a permanent coach since Sunday Oliseh quit the post in February.

The Nigerian Football Federation is hoping to be able to draw up a shortlist of candidates by Friday.

"We encourage applications from all highly-qualified persons, whether they be Nigerians or expatriates," it said.

"Applications are welcome until Wednesday, and the Technical and Development Committee will meet on Friday to look through all applications and release a shortlist."

Caretaker manager Salisu Yusuf guided Nigeria to victories over Mali and Luxembourg in two friendly matches in May, but the NFF president Amaju Pinnick has publicly declared his intention to appoint a foreign manager for the country instead.

Nigeria were rocked by Oliseh's exit, brought about by a dispute over contract violations, and they had to play two crucial Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against Egypt in March under the temporary charge of Under-23 coach Samson Siasia.

The three-time African champions were eliminated from the competition and will not feature at next year's finals in Gabon.

Opinions are sharply divided about what direction the NFF should follow after the country's failure to qualify for the 2015 and 2017 Nations Cup tournaments under local managers.

Nigeria have been drawn in the same African 2018 World Cup qualifying group B as former champions Cameroon, Algeria and Zambia.

The group includes three of the five African countries who went to the last World Cup in Brazil and they will be battling for a single place at the tournament in Russia.

Algeria and Nigeria both got past the group phase in 2014 and were eliminated in the round of 16 while Cameroon, hampered before arriving in Brazil by a player strike over money, lost all three games and conceded nine goals.

BBC

USA to block Nigeria's looted funds from banks

James Entwistle, the U.S. ambassador to Nigeria, has expressed his country’s readiness to stand hand in hand with Nigeria and provide any assitance needed to jointly combat corruption. He also assured that no looted funds are laundered through the American banking system. According to the diplomat, the Obama administration has already offered technical assistance to local anti-graft agencies for the training of investigators and prosecutors.

Mr Entwistle made the announcement during the 240th United States Independence Anniversary celebration cocktail party in Abuja on Saturday. He said: “Not just the political freedom you exercised last year, but freedom from fear, freedom from want, freedom from sickness, and freedom from corruption. The last election was tremendous democratic success, not only for Nigeria, but the growth of democracy across Africa. As you fight Boko Haram and secure and rebuild the Northeast, and you strive for harmony in the Niger Delta and across the land, we will continue to help in every appropriate way.

Indeed, let us redouble our efforts on the humanitarian front in the Northeast. Nigerians are dying of starvation in Nigeria. The United States stands with every Nigerian who believes that Nigeria can be healthier, safer, and more prosperous.” On economy and investments The ambassador also commended Nigeria’s economy direction, stressing the importance of fuel subsidy removal and foreign exchange rate control. Besides, he urged the government to keep developing investment-friendy environment to attract more foreign companies thus boosting economy.

“As you continue privatization of the power grid, through President Obama’s Power Africa initiative, we stand ready to, among other things, help companies invest in building more electricity infrastructure, especially environmentally-friendly power generation. As you increase your commitment to healthcare and education, we support those efforts too,” he assured Mr. Entwistle, who has worked 35 and a half years at the U.S. Foreign Service, is planning to retire and leave his post of the ambassador to Nigeria by the end of this month. He has described his stay in Nigeria as a fascinating time and expressed optimism and hope for the better future for Nigeria. However, he refused to comment on his letter to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, over sexual allegations against three Nigerian lawmakers while on official trip to the U.S. months ago.

NAIJ

Video - Plan to raise over $90bln to stabilize Nigeria

Stabilizing oil prices should help Nigeria's engineer an economic recovery, but Africa's largest economy also needs a lot more funding to develop -- that's why a Nigerian business delegation is in China this week. Is that a hard sell? Cheng Lei spoke to Dr Ibe Kachikwu, Nigeria's state minister for petroleum resources, to find out how the fundraising is going.

Nigeria strengthens airport security after Turkey terrorist attack

Nigerian authorities have reacted swiftly to the terror attack in Turkey by beefing up security at all major airports across the country.

Following the twin explosions and gunfire that rocked the Turkish international airport of Ataturk in Istanbul, killing 36 and leaving more than 40 people injured, Nigerian authorities have reacted to possible terrorist threats.

The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, FAAN, said yesterday that technological devices such as metal detectors and 3D screening machines had been installed to counter any possible security breach.

FAAN advised all airport passengers to be security conscious at all times and weary of any threats or suspicious packages.

The Presidency meanwhile reacted to the terrorist attacks in Turkey, calling it very sad and wishing that all the victims to rest in peace.

News24 reported that two explosive devices were set off in the Ataturk International airport with video footage captured by CCTV cameras showing the exact moment a suicide bomber detonated the device.

News24

Lagos shutting down churches and mosques to reduce noise pollution

Authorities in Nigeria's Lagos State have shut 70 churches and 20 mosques in an attempt to reduce high noise levels.

About 10 hotels, pubs and club houses were also closed, officials said.

Some estimates put Lagos' population at around 20 million, creating a constant background of noise - from the blaring of car horns, to the Muslim call to prayer and loud singing in churches.

The state government has vowed to make the city, the biggest in Africa, noise-free by 2020.

In August, the Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency (LEPA) closed 22 premises after residents complained about noise emanating from them.

Following the latest crackdown, its general manager Bola Shabi said the agency would no longer allow people to pray in makeshift buildings and tents.

Mr Shabi said noise levels had been reduced by about 35%, but this was not a "pass mark yet".

"Enforcement is a continuous exercise and we have set a target for ourselves. We want to ensure that Lagos is noise-free by the year 2020," he said.

Mr Shabi said mosques complied with their instructions more than churches because when they are ordered to shut down, they "instantly bring down their speakers or reduce the noise they make''.

Nigerians are extremely religious, with a large number of evangelical churches operating in Lagos.

Christians form the majority in the city.

In 2014, 116 people died when a building owned by popular televangelist TB Joshua collapsed in Lagos.

BBC