Nigeria forward Victor Boniface admitted that missing out on the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations was a painful experience for him.

Boniface missed the competition due to an injury.

The Bayer Leverkusen striker sustained an adductor injury during the Super Eagles’ preparation for the competition.

The 23-year-old spent three months on the sidelines due to the setback.

The striker returned to action at the end of last month.

“It was difficult, one of the most painful moments of my career—not only the injury itself but, of course, also my absence from the Africa Cup of Nations and some important Bundesliga games,” Boniface told AFP via Transfermarkt.

“But that’s football; you have ups; you have downs. It’s about your attitude and your mindset. You need the right people around you in moments like this. I had the support of the club; that was important.”

President Bola Tinubu has appointed renowned banker and businessman, Mr. Jim Ovia, as the Chairman of the Board of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND).

The appointment was disclosed in a statement released by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, on Friday.

Ngelale noted that the President believes Mr. Ovia will bring his immense wealth of experience and professional stature to this role to advance the all-important vision of ensuring that no Nigerian student suffers a capricious end to their pursuit of higher education over a lack of funds.

According to the Special Adviser, Ovia will be tasked with ensuring that Nigerian youths, irrespective of who they are, have access to higher education and skills that will make them productive members of society and core contributors to the knowledge-based global economy of this century.

“Mr. Ovia is the founder of one of Nigeria’s leading banks and a respected business leader, with a surfeit of efforts and benefaction towards nurturing and empowering young Nigerians.

“He is an alumnus of Harvard Business School and holds a Master’s in Business Administration from the University of Louisiana.

“The National Student Loan Programme is a pivotal intervention that seeks to guarantee sustainable higher education and functional skill development for all Nigerian students and youths.

“The Nigerian Education Loan Fund, the implementing institution of this innovation, demands excellence and Nigerians of the finest professional ilk to guide and manage,” the statement read in part.

President Tinubu on April 3, signed the National Students Loan Amendment bill into law.

The amended bill was signed after he initially signed the student loan bill into law back in June 2023, to offer financial assistance to Nigerian students in tertiary institutions.

Following the earlier signing of the bill, its implementation faced delays due to various issues hindering its rollout.

Speaking after he signed the amended bill, the president said, “ First of all, I must thank members of the National Assembly for their expeditious handling of this bill considering the children of Nigeria, that education is the tool to fight against poverty effectively.”

“We are determined to ensure that education is given the proper attention necessary for the country including skills development programmes. This is to ensure that no one, no matter how poor their background is, is excluded from quality education and opportunity to build their future.”

“We are here because we are all educated and were helped. In the past, we have seen a lot of our children drop out of college and give up the opportunity. That is no more, the standard and the control is there for you to apply no matter who you are as long as you are a Nigerian citizen.”

Funso Doherty, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) governorship candidate in Lagos State in 2023, has faulted the federal government’s planned demolition of structures along the right of way of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway despite concerns raised on the cost and environmental impact assessment (EIA) of the project.

The federal controller of works in Lagos, Olukorede Kesha, at a press conference in Lagos announced the planned demolition, saying it will affect all structures within the first three kilometres of the highway whose owners have been served notice of demolition by the government.

Doherty, whose reaction was contained in an open letter to the federal government conveyed on his X (formerly Twitter), recalled that numerous concerns have been raised about the cost and lack of competitive bidding in the award of the highway contract that are yet to be remedied.

“A more relevant concern for the purpose of this letter is the fact that the environmental impact assessment for the coastal road project has not been completed or shared for public comments even though the project has commenced and the hugely consequential step of demolition appears imminent,” he said.

Doherty said that no serious government should undertake such a large project without a standard EIA document completed for discussion in public domain, stressing that the EIA is a legal requirement for highway projects under Nigerian EIA Act.