Seven teams have already sealed their passage into the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Morocco.

Naija News reports that the race for the upcoming prestigious tournament is getting more intense as the qualifying matches unfold.

Matchdays Three and Four have featured thrilling contests, with teams from 12 groups competing vigorously for the opportunity to showcase their talents on the continental stage.

The seven teams that have confirmed their participation in the tournament include Senegal, DR Congo, Algeria, Cameroon, Burkina Faso, Egypt, and Angola.

The final two rounds of qualifiers are scheduled for next month, with additional teams aiming to join those already qualified.

The 2025 Africa Cup of Nations is set to commence on 21 December of next year, culminating in a grand finale on 18 January 2026.

Meanwhile, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) has explained why the 2025 AFCON qualifying match between the Super Eagles of Nigeria and Libya won’t occur as scheduled.

Naija News understands that the match was originally scheduled to take place in Libya at 8 p.m on Tuesday following the first leg, which saw the Super Eagles triumph over the Mediterranean Knights with a narrow 1-0 victory at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium in Uyo last Friday.

The return leg was mired in controversy, primarily due to the harrowing experience faced by the Super Eagles players and officials, who reported being stranded at the Libya airport for over 14 hours.

The ordeal ultimately led to their decision to return home rather than participate in the scheduled match.

In a statement released on Tuesday afternoon, CAF said the case between the two nations will be referred to the competent CAF bodies.

Former President of Nigeria, Goodluck Jonathan, has cautioned the judiciary against making pronouncements that can be detrimental to the nation’s democracy.

Jonathan, who spoke on Thursday in Abuja at the 67th birthday celebration of Prof. Mike Ozekhome (SAN), said he is disturbed by the judgements emanating from various courts on political matters in the country recently.

The former Nigerian leader specifically lamented the decision of the Supreme Court that a ward chairman of a political party could suspend the National Chairman of the party.

According to him, the apex court ruling is responsible for the current crisis in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and had also caused problems for the All Progressives Congress (APC) previously.

Jonathan argued that such court pronouncements could be likened to turning a cone upside down, which increases its propensity to fall.

“When a cone is turned upside down, it cannot stand because any little thing that touches it will fall,” Jonathan submitted, noting that such judgements were capable of destabilising the democratic dispensation in the country.

According to him, empowering Ward Chairmen of political parties to suspend their National Chairmen is against the natural course of justice as it is empowering a subordinate to remove his/her superior from office.

“You cannot tell me that the head of a department can expel the vice chancellor.

“Since that judgement was given, it has created all forms of instability. The PDP is in crisis today because of that judgement. The APC also faced the same problem at a time.

“Look at how other nations work; I have never seen where the sub-unit disciplines the principal.

“I am therefore pleading with the Supreme Court to review that judgement because it had turned the cone upside down,” ex-President Jonathan added.

He made the observations shortly after he was brought to the podium by former President Olusegun Obasanjo, who was originally named the Chairman of the occasion, but however, while proceeding to the podium to make his remarks, took Jonathan along with him, and announced him as the co-chairman of the event.

The Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) has threatened to embark on another nationwide strike over the federal government’s failure to implement its agreements with the union in a bid to enhance the working conditions of its members.

Naija News reports that ASUP issued a 15-day ultimatum to the government on Thursday during a press conference in Kaduna.

Comrade Abubakar J. Abdullahi, the Chairman of the Kaduna Polytechnic Chapter of ASUP, while updating union members on the resolutions made during the Union’s 111th National Executive Council (NEC) meeting, which took place on October 6, 2024, in Abuja, indicated that the 15-day countdown began on October 7, 2024, and upon the conclusion of this period, the NEC will reconvene to determine the appropriate course of action.

He expressed dissatisfaction with the Federal Government’s sluggish response and apparent lack of urgency in fulfilling the agreements established with ASUP.

Members nationwide voiced considerable concern regarding the Federal Government’s inaction, noting that some agreements have been pending since 2010.

“It is important to emphasize, for the public’s awareness, that these agreements are intended to improve working conditions within our institutions and create a more conducive environment for teaching, learning, skill acquisition, and research.

“It is only after exhausting nearly all avenues for amicable resolution that the NEC of our Union has decided to issue a 15-day ultimatum to the Federal Government. This 15-day period commenced on October 7, 2024.

“The Union has directed all its local chapters and zones to prepare for protests, media campaigns, and other peaceful actions during this period, while hoping that the Federal Government will utilize the 15-day window to address the issues and prevent a potential shutdown of all polytechnics across the nation,” he said.

He indicated that the decision stems directly from an evaluation of the government’s response, as highlighted by the Ministry of Education, the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), and the Governing Councils of various polytechnics concerning the Union’s interactions.

In particular, the 111th National Executive Council (NEC) resolved to call for an immediate reassessment and annulment of all decisions made by the Government, NBTE, or Governing Councils that contradict the stipulations of the Federal Polytechnics Act (Amended) 2019.

Additional demands include the prompt resolution and payment of the long-standing CONTISS-15 migration arrears for lower cadre staff, the recommencement and conclusion of the renegotiation process regarding the ASUP and Federal Government agreement from 2010, and the immediate release of the updated conditions of service for the polytechnic sector, among other requests.

He urged for the swift implementation of promotions and the payment of all accumulated promotion arrears in state-owned institutions, as well as the disbursement of outstanding promotion arrears in federal institutions and colleges of education.