Nigeria win 10th Women’s Africa Cup of Nations after thrilling comeback against Morocco

Nigeria staged a remarkable fightback from two goals down to beat hosts Morocco 3-2 and win the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations on Saturday.

It was a record-extending 10th triumph for Nigeria, confirming their status as the most successful women’s team in Africa. Esther Okoronkwo and Folashade Ijamilusi led the fightback at Rabat’s Stade Olympique before the substitute Jennifer Echegini swept home an 88th-minute winner.

The Morocco captain, Ghizlane Chebbak, and the winger Sanaâ Mssoudy scored in the first half hour to see the home team take a surprise lead as they sought to become only the fourth country to take the continental title after Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea and South Africa.

The Super Falcons pick up $1m in prize money – doubled since the last edition – and become the first side to lift the new-look Wafcon trophy.

In Friday’s third-place playoff, Ghana defeated South Africa on penalties after a 1-1 draw in Casablanca. Nonhlanhla Mthandi’s fine strike from outside the penalty area put Banyana Banyana in front just before the break, but Ghana levelled in the 68th minute when a header from South Africa defender Alice Kusi deflected in off the goalkeeper Andile Dlamini.

Linda Motlhalo was denied by the Ghana goalkeeper Cynthia Konlan late on, before Evelyn Badu hit the crossbar for the Black Queens in stoppage time. It was Konlan who made the difference in the shootout, saving two South Africa penalties as Ghana won 4-3. Victory over the defending champions earned Ghana their first top-three finish at the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations since 2016.

Reuters

Dangote Demands Fuel Import Ban to Protect Nigeria’s Refining Future

 

The owner of the biggest refinery in Africa, Aliko Dangote, has urged the government to ban the import of fuels in line with its “Nigeria First” policy.

“The Nigeria First policy announced by His Excellency, President Bola Tinubu, should apply to the petroleum product sector and all other sectors,” Dangote said, as quoted by local media at an industry event, referring to the initiative launched earlier this year that bans government agencies from buying foreign goods if the same goods are available locally.

Dangote went on to say that a lot of the imported fuel in Nigeria was of subpar quality that would not be allowed in other fuel markets.

“We are now facing increased dumping of cheap, often toxic petroleum products, some of which are blended to substandard levels that would never be allowed in Europe or North America,” Nigeria’s richest man said. Dangote also said that some of the fuels that enter Nigeria are produced with discounted Russian oil, which makes them cheaper than local fuels, which is unfair to local refiners.

The Dangote refinery, with a total capacity of 650,000 barrels daily and a price tag of $20 billion, was built to reduce Nigeria’s 100% reliance on imported fuels. The refinery began operation in 2024 and has been ramping up since then. In an interesting twist, this ramp-up has seen a temporary rise in U.S. crude oil exports to Nigeria in the first quarter of this year as domestic demand declined on refinery maintenance, making the oil more affordable for Nigerian buyers.

Any imports, however, are a threat to the Dangote facility, whose owner has an ambition to one day supply all of the fuels consumed domestically. There might even be some left to export, per the plans. Indeed, according to Dangote, Nigeria is currently a net exporter of fuels, with 1.35 billion litres of gasoline exported over the last 50 days.

By Irina Slav, Oilprice

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Kabir Adamu, a national security policy and strategy specialist for Nigeria and the Sahel, credits a strengthened army-air force collaboration for progress in tackling banditry. He highlights how this partnership addresses root causes such as resource conflicts and weak governance, marking a shift in Nigeria’s approach to curbing insecurity in affected regions.

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