20 Kano representatives at National Sports Festival die in road accident (Vanguard)
Tragedy on Saturday struck as 20 members of the Kano contingent died in a fatal auto crash while returning from the just-concluded National Sports Festival (NSF) in Ogun State.
It was gathered that the vehicle conveying the contingents was involved in the crash in Dakatsalle town, 50 kilometres into the ancient city of Kano.
The Chairman of the Sport Writers Association of Nigeria, SWAN, Kano State chapter, Zahraddeen Saleh, confirmed the incident. Read more
Lagos-Calabar coastal highway costs N4bn per kilometre – Umahi (Punch)
The Minister of Works, David Umahi, has said the government is constructing the Lagos-Calabar coastal highway at a total cost of N4bn per kilometre and not the N8bn per km reportedly claimed by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar.
This indicates that the total project will be completed at the cost of N2.8trn.
The minister also dismissed claims that the project didn’t follow the due procurement process, stating that the contract was awarded on a counter-funding basis and not on a Public-Private Partnership as widely claimed. Read more
Access Bank completes acquisition of National Bank of Kenya from KCB (KenyaWallStreet)
Access Bank Plc has completed its acquisition of National Bank of Kenya (NBK) from KCB Group Plc.
The deal, announced in March 2024, closed on 30 May 2025, following approvals from the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) and the Competition Authority of Kenya (CAK).
Access Bank is Africa’s largest lender by customer base, serving over 60 million customers across 24 markets on three continents throughout more than 700 branches and service outlets.
Its operations span Nigeria, Ghana, Rwanda, Zambia, Mozambique, Botswana, and the DRC, and it has branches in the UK and UAE, as well as representative offices in China, Lebanon, India, Paris, and Hong Kong. Read more
Politicians uniting behind Tinubu ahead 2027 is a reminder of the days of Abacha — Dele Farotimi (Tribune)
Popular lawyer and activist, Mr. Dele Farotimi has shared his opinion on the 26th anniversary of Nigeria’s return to democratic rule, and on a number of other issues of interest in an interview.
Asked how he thinks Nigerians should celebrate the anniversary?
He said, “It is delusional to speak of celebrating anything because it is a difficult time which the All Progressives Congress (APC) has brought in bold relief. We should rather be calling for mourning as a collective because there is nothing to celebrate and there is no democracy either.” Read more
Mokwa Flood Disaster: Tinubu directs swift activation of emergency response (ThisDay)
President Bola Tinubu has directed the immediate activation of the National Emergency Response Centre following the devastating floods in Mokwa Local Government Area of Niger State, which have claimed over 100 lives and displaced several families.
The order was given early Saturday after the president received distressing reports on the scale of the disaster.
From available reports, no fewer than 75 victims have been buried, while over 100 people remain unaccounted for amid ongoing search-and-rescue operations. Read more
Nasarawa govt. directs residents of flood-prone areas to relocate (Guardian)
The Nasarawa State Government has directed residents of flood-prone communities to relocate to higher grounds to avoid any loss of lives during the rainy season.
Margaret Elayo, the Commissioner for Environment and Natural Resources, said this on Saturday in Lafia while addressing newsmen after monitoring the May edition of the monthly clean-up exercise.
Elayo said that such step became imperative because of flooding predictions by the Nigerian Meteorological Agency as well as previous experiences where lives and property were lost to flooding. Read more
Gender, youth inclusion crucial to democratic growth – NILDS DG (Sun)
The Director General, National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILDS), Professor Abubakar Sulaiman, has said there is need for gender and youth inclusion in governance in the interest of the country’s democracy.
Professor Sulaiman stated this, while speaking at a press briefing, in Abuja, as part of activities to commemorate his six years, in office, as the director general of the institute.
The Director General, while noting that though the country’s democracy has not done badly in the past 26 years, said there is need for the country to ensure gender and youth inclusion in governance, as well as the inclusion of physically challenged persons in governance. Read more
Samantha Mumba: From ‘obnoxious teen’ to pop superstar (BBC)
In the summer of 2000, a 17-year-old Dublin girl emerged with a debut single that would redefine the perception of Irish pop music.
Her voice was a far cry from the ethereal, mega-selling Celtic sounds of Enya; the pop-meets-Irish trad mash-up of The Corrs; or slick boy-band contemporaries, like Westlife and Ronan Keating who, between them, had already notched multiple UK numbers ones that year.
Instead, Samantha Mumba’s Gotta Tell You was a sleek, radio-ready hit that climbed international charts and, almost 25 years ago to the day, introduced a confident and cool new voice to the noughties music scene. Read more
Taylor Swift buys back her music catalog 6 years after it was sold to Scooter Braun (Deadline)
Taylor Swift has re-acquired her music catalog, six years after her old label, Big Machine Label Group, sold it to Scooter Braun’s Ithaca Holdings. She did not disclose the amount, but it is reported to be in the nine figures.
Swift announced the deal in an emotional and lengthy statement on her website Friday.
“Hi. I’m trying to gather my thoughts into something coherent, but right now my mind is just a slideshow. A flashback sequence of all the times I daydreamed about, wished for, and pined away for a chance to get to tell you this news. All the times I was thiiiiiiiiiiiiis close , reaching out for it, only for it to fall through. I almost stopped thinking it could ever happen, after 20 years of having the carrot dangled then yanked away. But that’s all in the past now,” Swift wrote. Read more
Miley Cyrus seemingly throws shade at Dua Lipa on new song “Every Girl You’ve Ever Loved” (Consequence)
Miley Cyrus released her new album Something Beautiful on Friday, and on the song “Every Girl You’ve Ever Loved,” she seemingly throws shade at Dua Lipa.
The lyrics in question are as follows: “She speaks the perfect French/ She can dance the night away/ And still, she’ll never break a sweat.” While, sure, these could be about any woman that speaks French and can dance a lot without perspiring. But Dua Lipa checks all three boxes; she can speak French (certainly evidenced by her French-speaking cameo in Charli XCX’s recent “Talk Talk” remix with Troye Sivan) and she can definitely dance the night away (as stated directly in 2023’s “Dance the Night” from the Barbie soundtrack). Read more
Teyana Taylor teases new album ‘Escape Room’ (Stereogum)
Everyone is really leaning into the movie-album trend, and the latest to do it is Teyana Taylor. Which is a surprising plot twist for the musician-turned-movie star that hinted at taking a step back from music. Since starring in the excellent award-winning film A Thousand And One, she’s been cast in Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another and is even confirmed to star in the anticipated Dionne Warwick biopic. Now the Harlem-born artist is bringing the worlds of music and film together after sharing a trailer for a new short film called Escape Room. It also happens to be the name of a forthcoming album. They will both seemingly arrive this coming August.
The project, which teases the follow-up album to 2020’s The Album, was written, directed, and produced by Taylor. It also stars Lakeith Stanfield and Aaron Pierre, who seem caught in a love triangle with Taylor. The trailer opens with wedding scene where Taylor says her vows to Stanfield. Then things get pretty gnarly. There’s flashes of a cage-like coffin and visuals of Taylor dressed as some sort of robot. It’s honestly very confusing to tell what’s going on, but it does seem like maybe there’s some time-traveling involved. Read more
Ariana Grande reportedly set to star opposite Ben Stiller & Robert De Niro in ‘Meet the Parents 4’ (NME)
Ariana Grande is reportedly set to star in Meet The Parents 4 alongside Ben Stiller and Robert De Niro.
Read More: ‘Wicked’ review: hit musical makes gravity-defying leap to the big screen
The franchise follows Stiller’s hapless Greg Focker, a nurse who has to reckon with the family of his girlfriend Pam (Teri Polo), particularly her parents Jack (De Niro) and Dina (Blythe Danner).
Late last year, rumours emerged that the characters were getting ready to return to the big screen, and sources have now told The Hollywood Reporter that Danner and Polo are also expected to return on a brand new instalment of the series, although those deals have yet to close.Read more
‘A fear campaign.’ Students around the world are shocked, scared & saddened by US visa pause (CNN)
When Adefemola Akintade learned that the Trump administration had suspended the processing of foreign student visas, she immediately went blank. “I don’t know what to do; this is something I’ve always wanted for the longest of times,” she told CNN, still with an air of disbelief.
The Nigerian journalist has been accepted into Columbia Journalism School for a master’s degree and was on the cusp of applying for her US visa. “I don’t have any backup plan,” the 31-year-old said. “I put all my eggs in one basket – in Columbia… which is quite a risk.” She is due to start her degree in New York in August having already paid a hefty enrolment fee.
Akintade is among thousands of people across the globe who were thrown into limbo on Tuesday when the US State Department instructed its embassies and consulates to pause the scheduling of new student visa interviews as it plans to expand social media vetting for applicants. Read more
Oshoala Academy hosts empowerment event for girls (Punch)
The Asisat Oshoala Academy hosted an empowerment event for nearly 100 girls from surrounding communities at Obele Secondary School in Surulere on Tuesday as part of its Sports, Humanitarian, and Education Project.
The Children’s Day event featured Taekwondo sessions on self-defence, leadership development workshops facilitated by the Youth Empowerment Foundation, CPR training, and personal hygiene education aimed at empowering the next generation of young women.
Head of Technical at the Asisat Oshoala Academy, Alabi Kazeem, said the choice of venue was strategic, explaining, “Surulere is a sports city. That’s why we chose Obele Odan High School and Ideal High School, to ensure more girls benefit from what the SHE Project has mapped out for them.” Read more
Bektemir Melikuziev floors Darius Fulghum late, wins decision in terrific fight (BoxingScene)
Bektemir Melikuziev and Darius Fulghum rose to the occasion in the toughest test of their respective careers.
A strong twelfth-round finish and knockdown was the difference on all three scorecards as Melikuziev earned a unanimous decision. All three judges scored the contest 114-112 for Uzbekistan’s Melikuziev, who fought through training camp injuries, a bloody nose and swollen left eye to prevail in their Golden Boy Fight Night on DAZN main event Friday evening from Virgin Hotels Las Vegas.
With the win, Melikuziev is the now the mandatory challenger for the WBA super middleweight title. Read more
Transfer: Osimhen among list of strikers Man Utd want to sign (Sun)
Victor Osimhen of Napoli is one of the attackers Manchester United want to sign for manager Ruben Amorim.
Manchester United have been linked with the Nigerian international this summer.
Osimhen is on loan at Galatasaray from Napoli, and the 26-year-old is expected to leave the Serie A club permanently during the summer transfer window. Read more
Zion Williamson sued by a woman alleging the Pelicans star committed sexual violence against her (CNN)
Zion Williamson is being sued by a woman describing herself as a former dating partner and who alleges the New Orleans Pelicans star committed repeated sexual violence against her.
The civil lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court on Thursday night, identifies the plaintiff as “Jane Doe.” She claims she began dating Williamson in 2018, when he played at Duke, and alleges that he engaged in abusive behavior toward her in California, Louisiana and Texas from 2020 until their relationship ended in 2023.
Williamson’s New Orleans-based attorney, Michael Balascio, called the claims in the lawsuit “categorically false and reckless,” and accused the plaintiff of extortion, which he said has been reported to law enforcement. Read more
Heitinga leaves Liverpool to become Ajax head coach (BBC) John Heitinga has left his role as Liverpool’s assistant boss to return to Dutch club Ajax as their head coach.
The former Netherlands defender made more than 200 appearances for Ajax before having spells as their reserve team boss and interim head coach.The 41-year-old has rejoined the club on a two-year contract and will be assisted by another Ajax academy product, Marcel Keizer. Read more