Mohammed Shosanya
MultiChoice Nigeria has unveiled prolific Super Falcons striker, Asisat Oshoala, as brand ambassador.
The partnership is part of the ‘Here For Her’ SuperSport campaign in support of female sports.
At the unveiling in Lagos, Chief Executive Officer, MultiChoice Nigeria, Mr. John Ugbe, said the choice of Oshoala as brand ambassador was due to her passion and dedication for the game, which continues to inspire millions across the globe.
He said:”I am especially excited about our partnership with Asisat Oshoala, as I pride myself as an advocate for women, leading a team that comprises an equal split of men and women. We are patterning with Asisat as our brand ambassador, as part of our ‘Here For Her’ SuperSport promise supporting female sports, because she has proven to be a strong dedicated advocate for the sport, and has inspired millions with her skills, athleticism and grace – on and off the pitch.
“With this brand partnership, we will continue to tell our truly authentic stories and sports forms a key part of that narrative, especially with the upcoming FIFA Women’s World Cup from July 20-August 20, 2023, across our SuperSport channels. We are here for the Super Falcons, we are here for Asisat”
Oshoala said the partnership is about giving hope to the younger generation. “I really hope this will be a long term because I can see a lot of positivity at the beginning. This is not about me, but about the younger generation coming, the kids that will be hopeful for the future. I didn’t have the opportunity to watch a lot of matches while growing up, but here I am, a MultiChoice ambassador.
“It’s amazing how female sports have grown. We need to acknowledge the power of the media at promoting talents, and that is what MultiChoice has brought to us. I appreciate everyone that made this happen. The World Cup is here, MultiChoice will be showing all the matches, and I urge you all to support the Super Falcons,” she said.
Oshoala has enjoyed a wonderful career with loads of trophies and personal awards to her name. She was crowned the African female Football Player of the Year for 2014, 2015, 2017 and 2019; won the Golden Ball at the 2014 African Women’s Championship and the Golden Boot at the 2016 Africa Women’s Championship.
Her awards include 2014 U-20 Women’s World Cup Golden Boot and Golden Ball; 2017 Chinese Women’s League Top Scorer; Queen Of The Pitch Award 2014; BBC Footballer of the Year 2015 and Aiteo Award for Best CAF Player 2017.
OIL AND GAS
Tinubu Should Probe Crude Swap Deals-Policy Alerts
Mohammed Shosanya
A civil society organisation, Policy Alert,has implored President Bola Tinubu to commence a thorough investigation of all crude swap deals entered into by the Nigerian government with commodity traders since 2010.
The group said such investigation would help expose and bring to book those who facilitated or benefited from the corruption-prone regimes.
In a release endorsed by head of the NGO’s Media Unit, Nneka Luke-Ndumnwere, recalled that he group chief executive officer (GCEO) of Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Mele Kyari, had announced recently that the company has commenced the termination of crude oil swap deals and the national oil company will now pay for its purchases in cash
In a public conversation on the theme, “Beneficial ownership and Nigeria’s crude swaps – priorities for the new administration,” organised by Policy Alert on Twitter Spaces yesterday, the group said that while the decision of the NNPCL to end crude oil swap deals is commendable, it would only amount to half-measures if the corrupt and inefficient system underpinning the swaps was not investigated, lost revenue recovered, culprits punished, and safeguards instituted.
“It would be counter-productive to allow politically exposed persons who were involved in corrupting the present regime to continue presiding over fresh transactions under the new administration” the organisation noted in a communique issued this evening after the Twitter Space.
“This is long overdue and would plug the massive revenue leakages suffered by the Nigerian state over the years due to under-delivery, unpaid tax liabilities, importation of dirty fuels, and other violations by oil traders. The swap deals, whether in its previous forms as the Refined-Product Exchange Agreement (RPEA) and Offshore Processing Agreement (OPA), or in its most recent form as Direct Sales Direct Purchase (DSDP), have been poorly regulated, opaque, and prone to corruption resulting in billions of dollars in losses to government.
“But ending the swaps is not enough” the organisation said. “This should be followed by a thorough investigation of all the swap deals up to now to expose and bring to book those who facilitated or benefited from the corruption-prone regimes.
“The NNPCL owes it to the Nigerian public to publish the traded volumes, payments received by government and status of outstanding liabilities owed the federation from its oil-for-product swap deals with oil and gas commodity trading companies particularly between 2010 till date.
“The company must ensure that, going forward, transparent criteria are set for selecting the private importers to avoid a repeat of past mistakes, and this must include the disclosure of beneficial owners of the contracted firms.
“Meanwhile, we urge the Tinubu administration to leverage the recently launched register of Persons with Significant Control as an inter-agency tool to pass a strong signal to those who have been ripping off the country’s oil resources that it is no longer business as usual.”. the release added.
