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The war for the final seven teams to join the 2026/2027 UEFA Champions League phase commences next week, with 14 clubs to compete across seven two-legged ties.

The Genius Media Nigeria reports that winners in this play-off will join 29 direct entrants in the 36-team league phase, while all seven losing teams drop directly into the UEFA Europa League league phase.

The first legs of the play-off are scheduled for play on August 18 and 19, with the return fixtures scheduled for August 25 and 26.

Below are the seven UEFA Champions League play-off fixtures:
Fenerbahçe vs Lyon
Celtic vs LASK
N.E.C. vs Bodø/Glimt
AEK Athens vs Levski Sofia
GNK Dinamo vs Viking
Slovan Bratislava vs Celje
Hapoel Beer-Sheva vs Sabah
Meanwhile, English football analyst Jamie Carragher has considered Michael Carrick unqualified to deliver the Premier League title for Manchester United this season.

Not only the Premier League, but the former Liverpool player also didn’t see Carrick among managers who could contend for the Champions League this season.

Carragher, however, believes the Red Devils’ manager could do well in the season.

“I personally just don’t think Michael Carrick’s got that stardust as a manager to win a Champions League or a Premier League.Africans & Diaspora

“He could have a good season and put Manchester United in a position to then go and get a Champions League-winning manager,” Carragher said.

Naija News reports that the former Reds made this remark on The Overlap Fan Debate.

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The Council of Legal Education has revealed that 983 candidates failed the May 2026 Bar Final (Resit) Examination, representing 54.7 per cent of those who sat the examination.

The council disclosed this in a public notice signed by its Secretary and Director of Administration, Aderonke O. Osho, and shared on Monday.

The results were approved at the council’s Third Quarter Hybrid Meeting held on Thursday, August 13, 2026.

According to the notice, “a total of 1,955 candidates sat for the examination,” with “885 candidates” recording a pass, while “55 candidates” obtained conditional passes.

The council further stated that “983 candidates” failed the examination, while 32 candidates were absent and the results of 19 others were withheld.

The Council said, “The results recorded an overall pass rate of 45.3 per cent. 54.7 per cent of the candidates did not attain the prescribed pass mark.”

Meanwhile, the Council of Legal Education has released a list of 122 universities approved to offer Law in Nigeria as of August 2026.

The council warned prospective students against enrolling in unaccredited institutions, stressing that only universities accredited by it are authorised to admit students into the Bachelor of Laws programme.

It added that students admitted into unapproved Law programmes would not be eligible for admission into the Nigerian Law School.

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Flooding in Abuja and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) is not a new phenomenon, nor did it begin with the current administration.

Available records and reports show that flooding has remained a recurring challenge across the nation’s capital for decades, affecting communities under successive administrations.
Historical reports indicate that flooding incidents were recorded in parts of the FCT as far back as 1995, with further incidents reported in 1999.

The problem became particularly severe in 2012, when several communities across the territory were affected by heavy flooding.

The pattern continued in subsequent years. In 2014, Trademore and other communities experienced flooding, while Lokogoma and surrounding areas were badly affected in 2017.

Flooding was also reported in Karshi and Kokosu in 2018, followed by severe incidents in Lokogoma in 2019.
In 2020, communities in Gwagwalada and other parts of the FCT were affected.

The following year, Trademore and Lugbe again witnessed serious flooding.

The scale of the problem increased in 2022, when several Abuja communities, including areas around the city centre, experienced major flooding. Trademore and other communities were again affected in 2023, while Orozo and other areas recorded flooding incidents in 2024.

The history makes one point clear: Abuja’s flooding problem predates the present administration and has persisted through different governments.

This, however, should not be used to dismiss the concerns of residents who continue to suffer losses whenever heavy rainfall overwhelms drainage systems and waterways.

Rather than turning every flooding incident into a political blame game, the focus should be on finding lasting solutions.

The FCT requires better and interconnected drainage systems, proper urban planning, protection of natural waterways, effective waste management and strict enforcement of regulations against construction on flood plains and drainage channels.

Urban development must also take account of changing rainfall patterns and the rapid expansion of Abuja and its satellite communities. Areas that were once sparsely populated are now densely built up, increasing pressure on existing drainage infrastructure.

The current FCT administration, led by Minister Nyesom Wike, therefore faces an important responsibility. The recurring nature of the problem provides an opportunity to develop a comprehensive flood-management strategy that goes beyond emergency interventions after every major rainfall.

Wike has repeatedly emphasised infrastructure development in the FCT. The real test will be whether ongoing and future projects can significantly reduce the frequency and impact of flooding across vulnerable communities.

Abuja’s flooding crisis should therefore be treated as a long-standing urban planning and infrastructure challenge, rather than simply a political weapon. What residents need is not an argument over who started the problem, but a sustainable solution that protects lives, homes, businesses and public infrastructure.

The history of flooding in Abuja is clear. The challenge is decades old; the responsibility to fix it is now.