Cocoa hit a one-year high on Monday after Ivory Coast’s presidential claimant, Alassane Ouattara, locked in a standoff against incumbent Laurent Gbagbo, urged a month-long ban on exports from the world’s top producer. Dealers said prices were rising as the international market was thrown into turmoil on uncertainty over what Ouattara’s call meant, given that Gbagbo controls the supply pipeline…
New vehicle imports into Nigeria declined 18 percent in 2010, reflecting weak credit growth in sub-Saharan Africa’s second-biggest economy in the wake of a $4 billion bank bailout the previous year. Vehicle sales in Africa’s most-populous nation are a proxy measure for private purchasing power, a leading economic indicator which is not formally available in Nigeria. Port figures showed new…
26 January 2011 Barcelona put one foot in the Kings Cup final with a brace from Lionel Messi sealing a thumping 5-0 semi-final first leg win over Almeria at Camp Nou on Wednesday. Three goals in the opening quarter hour put Barcelona in total command and now Barcelona, who have won the Kings Cup a record 25 times, appear a…
27 January 2011 Disgraced FIFA and CAF executive Amos Adamu is confident his appeal against a three-year ban will be successful just as the Nigerian government has taken a special interest in the case. A source close to Adamu told MTNFootball.com that it was all a set-up against the top official and with the government now in the full picture…
Five National Youth Serving Corps members, a councilor, and an ad hoc staff are standing trial for allegedly diverting the Direct Data Capturing [DDC] machines and other materials meant for the ongoing voter registration exercise. The corps members are Makinwa Michael, Ovat Benard, Mustapha Yahaya, Osha Tolulope and Chinyere Okoye while the councilor is Effiong Edet Oqua representing Idundu Ward…
At least five people died in the early hours of Tuesday in an auto crash that occurred along the Akure/Ilesha expressway. The accident which involved a Mercedez-Benz truck with registration number XCC739RSH and a Nissan Sunny commercial vehicle with number AE341BKN occurred around 6 o’clock in the morning. Eye witnesses said that the Mercedez truck which was heading towards Akure…
The Independent National Electoral Commission in Ondo State yesterday said that it has registered over 600,000 voters since the exercise started on January 15. The commission also said that it has received an additional 527 Direct Data Capturing machines to address the hitches being recorded in the exercise. The administrative secretary of the commission, Folarin Awujoola, said this in a…
Nigeria’s Monetary Policy Committee raised its benchmark interest rate to 6.5 percent on Tuesday as it seeks to get inflation in sub-Saharan Africa’s second-biggest economy down to single digits. The MPC maintained a corridor of plus/minus 200 basis points around the benchmark rate for its lending and deposit rates respectively but increased the cash reserve requirement ratio to 2 percent…
The Public Complaints Commission in Anambra received 388 complaints from persons in private and public organisations on acts of injustice against them in 2010. The Director of the Commission, Emeka Onuzulike, gave the figure in Awka on Tuesday in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria.Mr Onuzulike said that 206 of the cases have been resolved, while the other…
Mozambique’s Ports Development Company (MPDC) said on Tuesday it would increase the handling capacity of its Maputo port to 12 million tonnes this year from the 8.7 million of 2010 to take more coal from South Africa. “We will use Maputo port as a gateway to the most important world markets,” MPDC chief executive Dave Rennie told a news conference…
26 January 2011 Nigeria are no longer a giant in African football, the players are over-rated and officials have failed in their responsibilities, according to the countrys former skipper Austin Jay Jay. Everything is wrong, right from the players, coaches and the management. And the fans expect too much, moaned Okocha as a guest on a programme of pay television…
Is there something you have always wanted to know about the history of the game? Or what about the present day clubs and stars of African football? We're giving you the chance to Ask The Expert, and we'll select the best questions to get answered every Wednesday, only on MTNFootball.com! This week's question: Posted 26 January 2011 by Holyyommex, Osun State, Nigeria Question: Do…
26 January 2011 TP Mazembe will look to further entrench their reputation as the dominant force of African club competition when they host FUS Rabat in the CAF Super Cup on Saturday in Lubumbashi, DR Congo. The reigning African champions, who claimed a second successive African Champions League title last year and became the first team from the continent to…
25 January 2011 Real Madrid confirmed on their website on Tuesday they had signed Manchester City's Togo striker Emmanuel Adebayor on loan till the end of the season. The 26-year-old has been brought in to add urgently needed firepower after Argentinian striker Gonzalo Higuain underwent surgery to fix a slipped disc earlier this month and is expected to be out…
26 January 2011 Round 17 of the Absa Premiership is a little disjointed with two teams in the South African top flight having to take part in CAF competitions over the weekend of the 28th-30th of January. This combined with the fact that one league match was postponed in the last round due to bad weather and a water logged…