EAGLES EYE UPDATE

The five-man shortlist for the BBC African Footballer of the Year 2014 has been revealed. Title holder Yaya Toure has been nominated for the sixth consecutive year, along with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Yacine Brahimi, Vincent Enyeama and Gervinho. The winner will be decided by fans of African football, who have until 18:00 GMT on Monday, 24 November to vote for their choice. You can vote online here. Or to vote for BBC African Footballer of the Year 2014 by SMS, text the number of the player you wish to vote for to +447786202008. Text 1 for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang Text 2 for Yacine Brahimi Text 3 for Vincent Enyeama Text 4 for Gervinho Text 5 for Yaya Toure Standard international text rates apply. Please check with your service provider. SMS votes are limited to one vote per mobile phone number. Terms and conditions apply. The winner will be announced on Monday, 1 December. Four of the nominees played at this summer's World Cup in Brazil, where for the fi

WORLD football governing body, FIFA has kept its pledge of monitoring intensely events in Nigeria football, as the body on Thursday congratulated newly –crowned Nigeria Premier League champions, Kano Pillars. In a letter addressed to NFF President, Mr. Amaju Pinnick and personally signed by FIFA President, Mr. Joseph S. Blatter, FIFA commended the entire Kano Pillars family for a job well done and also highlighted the capacity of football to transform societies. “I know that behind this success are the belief and effort of everyone involved. This is a true team victory, and all of you deserve to share in the accolades: the players and coach of course, but also the technical and medical staff, and not least, the loyal fans. The dynamism and commitment of the Kano Pillars team have enabled them to win this title for the 3rd time in succession. “Football is proving more than ever that it can transcend traditional boundaries to become a real driver of development. It enab

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said the distribution of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) should commence in all local government areas of Kano, Edo, Plateau, Ogun and Imo states from November 7 to 9. The daily bulletin of the commission, issued in Abuja on Wednesday, said the approval was given at a meeting held by the commission on Tuesday. It added that the commission also approved that the distribution of PVCs should commence in some areas in Lagos, Rivers and Nasarawa states on the same date, as earlier scheduled. The commission’s director, I.A Gali, giving the breakdown, said the INEC had approved that distribution of PVCs in Katsina, Niger, Kaduna and Borno states should be rescheduled from November 28 to November 30 and that the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise in those states should be rescheduled from December 3 to December 8, while the CVR exercise in Adamawa State will begin on Wednesday, November 12 and end on Monday, Novemb

Nigerian biker Ogbonnaya Kanu became the first man to ride from Nigeria to Cape Agulhas, the southernmost tip of the African continent. Although it is not the first record achievement of Kanu, who last year rode to Europe and back in 36 days, The Newsrescue reports. Also referred to as Foto Dadi, in 2012 Kanu became the first Nigerian biker to ride solo from Lagos,Nigeria to Austria, going through France, Germany, Austria, and Italy; and in mid-October he made another grand solo trip from South Africa to Lagos. A chemical engineer by profession, Kanu is eager to get the most out of life. He is not afraid of the new, of breaking the limits and changing the attitude of the world towards Nigerians. But no matter what, he always comes back home. The energetic biker is the co-founder of the Board of Trustees of the Easy Riders Motorcycle Club of Nigeria; the co-founder of Ride Easy Motorcycle Training School; co-founder and member Board of Trustees, Ride Easy Motorcyclin

President Goodluck Jonathan will unveil the specially designed commemorative 100 Naira banknote by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Wednesday, November 5. A statement on Monday by the CBN’s Director, Corporate Communications Department, Ibarahim Mu’azu, said the commemorative note was part of the apex bank’s contribution to the centenary celebration, which is in line with its mandate of issuing legal tender currency in Nigeria. “The choice of the 100 Naira denomination is to mark the centenary celebration of Nigeria and is consistent with best global practices for Central Banks around the world during the celebration of national events,” the statement read. Part of the features of the commemorative banknote is the inscription of the theme of the centenary celebration: “One Nigeria, Great Promise” as a micro-text. According to the statement, the new note is also designed to incorporate additional security features for digital communication, protection against counterfeiting,