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“It Was All About Concentration” — Atata Reflects on Ikorodu City’s 2-0 Win Over Rangers
Ikorodu City goalkeeper Michael Atata has credited concentration, commitment and collective effort after the Oga Boys secured an impressive 2-0 victory over defending Nigeria Premier Football League champions Rangers International in their EuroMatch NPFL Matchday 6 encounter.
Sports247 reports that Ikorodu City produced a disciplined performance to claim all three points, with Atata highlighting the importance of maintaining focus throughout the encounter.
“Today was all about concentration from the first minutes to the end of the game,” Atata said after the match.
The hosts made a bright start and took the lead as early as the eighth minute through a superb free-kick from Aderemi Adeoye.
Adeoye’s well-struck effort gave Ikorodu City an early advantage and provided the platform for the hosts to settle into the contest against the reigning NPFL champions.
Rangers attempted to respond but were unable to find a way through Ikorodu City’s organised defence, with Atata and his teammates maintaining their concentration.
The goalkeeper acknowledged the significance of the fixture, stressing that the players understood both the physical and mental demands required to secure a positive result.
“It is the game we know what is at stake mentally and physically,” he added.
Ikorodu City continued to work hard after the interval and eventually doubled their advantage in the 63rd minute when Ikechukwu Junior found the back of the net.
The second goal gave the Oga Boys greater control and allowed them to manage the remainder of the contest, eventually securing a clean sheet and a memorable victory over the defending champions.
Atata said the team’s approach was centred on giving everything on the pitch and executing their responsibilities with the right level of commitment.
“It’s all about giving our all, putting the right effort and making sure we come out winning,” the goalkeeper explained.
The victory adds another positive result to Ikorodu City’s campaign as the club continues to establish itself as a competitive force in the NPFL.
For Atata, the focus remains firmly on taking the season one match at a time.
“We just try to take each day as it is, we try giving our all and we are grateful for every match,” he concluded.
With Adeoye’s early free-kick and Junior’s second-half strike securing the points, Ikorodu City will take confidence from a performance that combined attacking efficiency with defensive discipline.
The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Nentawe Yilwatda, has left open the possibility of Godswill Akpabio returning as Senate President in 2027.
Yilwatda said the decision on whether Akpabio would return as Senate President rests with the Senate and not the APC.
He spoke during an interview on Channels Television's Politics Today on Monday night.
Asked whether Akpabio would return as Senate President in 2027, Yilwatda said, "You know that the Senate will determine it. Let's wait for the election first. I don't have anybody in mind. The Senate will determine who they want to make Senate President. We, as a party, will only just bring the Majority Leader."
On the political dispute between former Imo State Governor Rochas Okorocha and incumbent Governor Hope Uzodinma, the APC chairman said the party would allow the court to determine the matter.
Asked about the dispute, he said, "We will allow the court to settle it, but behind the scenes, we are doing management of the case.
"The report I have of all the political parties, you don't have one tenth of it. I have my intelligence around everybody. I filter data from all.
"There is no political party that does not have a research unit, and the research unit goes as low as scavenging for data."
APC Chairman speaks on Akpabio’s chances of returning as Senate President in 2027
Access Holdings is considering exiting at least one market outside its base in Nigeria to comply with a Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) rule requiring lenders to limit investment in foreign subsidiaries to no more than one-tenth of shareholders’ funds.
The banking group mentioned one business in which it plans to offload its stake to meet the requirement, Bloomberg reported on Monday, citing Chairman Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede.
“If a subsidiary cannot meet its cost of capital and the strategic objectives for which it is set up, you should be ready to take a decision to exit,” Mr Aig-Imoukhuede was quoted as saying at an African Financial Industry Summit in Luanda, Angola, last week.
“Do we have one or two troublesome subsidiaries? I can think of one.”
Investment in subsidiaries for Nigeria’s biggest bank by assets stood at N446.6 billion at the end of September, equivalent to 19.3 per cent of its equity, according to Access Holdings’ 9M 2026 Investor Presentation.
That was roughly double the 10 per cent ceiling permitted by the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act (BOFIA) 2020.
Only in cases of regulatory approval for a higher threshold from the CBN are lenders allowed to exceed that limit, the Act says.
The banking industry watchdog has given Access Holdings 12 months to address the issue.
The potential exit is part of the financial institution’s move to review its international operations to comply with the directive.
In June, Access Bank’s chief executive, Roosevelt Ogbonna, said the lender would reduce its shareholding in some of its foreign subsidiaries to achieve compliance.
According to Innocent Ike, CEO of Access Holdings, the lender will explore three strategies towards that end.
The options include recalling surplus capital from overseas subsidiaries, offloading minority stakes and restructuring some businesses, he said.
He added that the group has already completed one capital repatriation exercise involving its six targeted subsidiaries, and is engaging regulators in five countries to facilitate the return of excess capital to Nigeria.
Access Holdings plans to meet the regulatory requirement ahead of the March 2027 deadline, Mr Ike stated.
READ ALSO: Access Holdings’ nine-month profit jumps 6% to N474.2 billion
“We gave ourselves up till January next year, and I think we’re completing this ahead of schedule,” said Mr Aig-Imoukhuede.
The Access Holdings’ chairman said the group’s international portfolio remains fundamentally strong despite plans to sell interests in some international subsidiaries.
He noted that the group would continue to review the performance of its subsidiaries to ensure they generate sustainable returns and remain aligned with the strategic objectives for which they were established.
“You have to do dynamic portfolio management. Every year, you’re looking for ways to improve,” he said.
Access Bank sold its 97 per cent stake in its loss-making Ivorian subsidiary to Cameroon’s Afriland First Group SA for $1 million in January 2014, after the CBN restricted parent-bank capital for foreign subsidiaries.
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