Head coach of Delta Queens Hockey Club, Ade Jacobs, has expressed confidence that his team will reach the final of the ongoing 2026 Nigeria Hockey Super League in Abuja

Mr Jacobs stated this during an interview after their second match on Sunday in Abuja.

He said his team remains focused on reaching the final stage of the league despite playing out a draw in their second match. .

Mr Jacobs said that though his players were below their usual standard, he was confident they would improve in subsequent games.

“It has been fine so far. We won our first match 5-0, and this second match ended in a 1-1 draw. Well, it’s one of those things that happen sometimes in matches because most of my girls looked a little bit heavy. I don’t know why.

“We intend to improve on that. In our next match, against I-G Babes on Tuesday  by 11 a.m . They will come out better, and I can assure you of that,” he said.

The Delta Queens coach reiterated the team’s ambition, recalling their third-place finish in the 2025 Nigeria Hockey Super League.

“We are determined to go a step further this season.Last season, we finished in third place. This season, our target is to play in the final match . We just have to be in the final stage,” he said.

Mr Jacobs also commended the organisers for the  smooth conduct of the competition

“So far, so good. They are doing well,” he added.

Delta Queens opened their campaign in impressive fashion with a convincing 5-0 victory over Yobe Desert Queens in their opening match before settling for a 1-1, against South West Hockey Club of Lagos in their second fixture.

A total of seven women’s  teams comprises Kada Queens, Plateau Queens, Delta Queens, Yobe Desert Queens, IGP Babes, South West, and Edo Queens.

Kada Queens are the reigning women’s champions, while Kada Stars are the defending champions in the men’s category.

The 2026 Nigeria Hockey Super League which commenced on June 26 will end on July 5 at the National Hockey Pitch of the Moshood Abiola National Stadium, Abuja.

(NAN)

The Certified True Copy of the Federal High Court judgment ordering the deregistration of the Nigeria Democratic Congress has emerged.

The judgment, delivered by Justice Isa H. Dashen at the Lokoja Judicial Division, effectively sets aside a December 10, 2025 judgment that had previously compelled the Independent National Electoral Commission to register the party.

The court said the prior judgment was nullified because it affected the legal rights of the Peace Movement Party, which claimed ownership of the logo used by the NDC but was never joined as a party to the original lawsuit.

Recall that the National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Mohammed Kudu Haruna, on Saturday said that the commission was waiting to obtain the official paperwork before finalizing its response.

“We have applied for the Certified True Copy of the judgment. Until we receive it, we cannot be in a position to comment on it. However, the position that existed before the December 10, 2025 judgment was that INEC rejected NDC’s letter of intent to be registered as a political party,” Haruna explained.

The NDC had said that it has already been denied the portal access codes needed to upload its candidate list for the 2027 general elections. 

In response to the portal denial, the National Publicity Secretary of the NDC, Osa Director, confirmed that their efforts to secure the necessary credentials were unsuccessful.

“We approached INEC to collect the access code to upload the names of our candidates to the INEC portal. They told us that they will get back to us,” Director said.