Newly appointed Nigeria volleyball Technical Adviser Ryan Masajedi says the country has an abundance of talented players, but believes greater attention to fundamentals and positional discipline could help the national team compete strongly at the 2026 African Women’s Nations Volleyball Championship in Nairobi.

The Japanese tactician, who was unveiled by the Nigeria Volleyball Federation earlier this month, has immediately taken charge of preparations for the women’s senior team ahead of the continental championship, which begins in Nairobi on August 23. The tournament runs until September 5 and brings together 16 of Africa’s leading women’s volleyball nations.

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Masajedi, who has previously worked with teams in Japan, Iran, Indonesia, Bangladesh and Italy, said he has been impressed by what he has seen from the Nigerian players since beginning work with the team. His coaching background includes a spell as assistant coach at Allianz Milano before taking up the Nigeria assignment.

“You already have so many good, talented and physically strong players,” Masajedi said.

“The only thing we were missing was the basic things, the fundamental techniques, which are most important.”

The 47-year-old coach explained that much of the team’s preparation has focused on ensuring that players understand exactly what is required of them in their respective positions.

“For each position, we made everything clear,” he said. “I was very happy with their efforts during this first period, and they have been developing well.”

Masajedi’s approach represents a significant change in Nigeria’s preparation, with the federation bringing in an experienced foreign technical adviser to strengthen the national teams ahead of major international competitions.

Nigeria Volleyball Federation president Musa Nimrod said the Japanese coach would work not only with the senior women’s team but also with the men’s national team and the federation’s wider development programmes.

“Coach Ryan Masajedi will immediately join the national women’s team in camp as preparations continue for the 2026 African Nations Championship in Kenya,” Nimrod said at the coach’s unveiling.

“He will also take charge of the men’s national team for the African Nations Championship in the Democratic Republic of Congo.”

The federation has also given Masajedi a broader development mandate, including visiting Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones to identify young talent and work with local coaches.

That long-term objective appears to fit the coach’s philosophy, with Masajedi stressing the importance of building players from the fundamentals upwards rather than relying solely on physical ability.

Nigeria’s immediate challenge, however, is in Nairobi, where the country will face some of the strongest teams on the continent.

The 2026 African Women’s Nations Volleyball Championship features 16 nations, including defending champions Kenya, Egypt, Cameroon, Rwanda, Algeria, Nigeria, Morocco and Uganda.

The stakes are also considerably higher than the African title alone.

The championship forms part of the qualification pathway for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games and the 2027 FIVB Women’s World Championship. Under the continental qualification system, the African champion earns an Olympic quota, while the leading eligible teams can secure places at the 2027 World Championship.

Masajedi therefore knows his first major assignment with Nigeria carries enormous significance.

But after several weeks working with the players, the Japanese coach believes the raw material is already there.

“The players have been developing well,” he said, pointing to the response he has received from the squad during the intensive preparation period.

With Nigeria now heading into one of the biggest women’s volleyball tournaments on the continent, Masajedi’s challenge is to turn that talent into results — and potentially put Nigeria on the road to Los Angeles 2028.

Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has accused the Federal Government of giving tax incentives and other benefits to oil companies while Nigerians continue to struggle with high petrol prices and the rising cost of living.

Atiku, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, made the allegation in a statement issued on Sunday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu.

He said President Bola Tinubu’s decision to remove the petrol subsidy was inconsistent with the government’s continued use of tax credits, concessions and other incentives to support petroleum investors.

“Nigerians were told there was no alternative and that enduring this pain was the necessary price of economic reform. But when major oil investors knock on Tinubu’s door, the sermon changes,” Atiku said.

He argued that the government’s deep offshore oil and gas incentives allow eligible projects to receive production tax credits of between $3 and $4.50 per barrel, with other incentives potentially increasing the total benefit to $11.50 per barrel in some cases.

“So, what exactly is Tinubu’s objection: government intervention itself, or government intervention for Nigerians?” he asked.

Atiku also questioned the claim that the petrol subsidy had completely ended. He cited NNPC Limited’s audited accounts, which he said recorded about N4.84 trillion in energy-security expenses and related shortfalls in 2023, rising to about N7.13 trillion in 2024.

He said NNPC attributed part of the expenses to the difference between the exchange rate used to determine regulated PMS prices and the rate applicable when import obligations were settled.

“So, where exactly did the subsidy go? If Nigerians were paying market prices because ‘subsidy is gone’, why was the Federation still carrying trillions of naira in under-recovery and energy-security costs?” Atiku asked.

He said the government should not focus on what the payments are called because public funds were still being used to cover the gap between the cost of petrol and its selling price.

Atiku said his proposed economic recovery programme would not bring back the former subsidy system, which he described as open-ended and opaque.

Instead, he said he would introduce a targeted and capped intervention that would be properly budgeted and independently audited. He added that the plan would be linked to local production and supported by efforts to increase refining capacity, improve competition and restore household purchasing power.

“You cannot subsidise capital and criminalise relief for citizens. You cannot offer cushions upstairs and call suffering downstairs reform,” Atiku said.

He also called for more transparency over tax credits, remissions and other incentives given to companies in the petroleum sector, including details of beneficiaries, the revenue involved and the investments delivered in return.

Atiku said Nigerian investors should also have fair and transparent access to similar incentives.

He added that the success of economic reforms should be judged by whether they improve people’s living standards, rather than by how much hardship Nigerians can endure.

Last week, Atiku said he would restore the petrol subsidy if elected president in 2027. Tinubu later criticised the proposal, describing Atiku as “ignorant of governance and the economy.”