2020 Budget Implementation: LIRS to generate N500bn (Guardian)
The Lagos State Internal Revenue Service (LIRS) is to generate N500 billion toward the implementation of the 2020 budget, the state Commissioner for Economic Planning and Budget, Mr Sam Egube, has said.
Giving newsmen a ‘Detailed Analysis of Year 2020 Budget’ of Lagos State in Ikeja on Tuesday, Egube said that the budget of N1.16 trillion would be funded from a total revenue estimate of N1.07 trillion.
”A significant percentage of the projected Total Internally Generated Revenue (TIGR) of N500 billion is expected to be contributed by LIRS.
”We shall achieve this by expanding the tax net through the deployment of technology, amongst other initiatives, which include massive investments in technology and other facilities to improve the efficiency in operations of all revenue generating agencies. Read more
Joy as Nigeria doctors separate conjoined twins (BBC)
A team of doctors in Nigeria have successfully separated one-year-old conjoined twins.
Lead surgeon Emmanuel Ameh told the BBC the operation to separate Goodness and Mercy Martins at the chest and abdomen took place in November and the two sisters were now well enough to go home.
He said the operation, which cost about $55,000 (£42,000), was complicated and lasted for about 12 hours. It involved 78 doctors working in two groups.
But the medics at National Hospital Abuja did not charge for their work because the twins’ parents – Michael Edeh and Maria Onya Martins – could not afford the medical bills. Read more
My brother stabbed our father to death – Witness (Punch)
A hairdresser, Patience Oamen, on Tuesday, narrated to a Lagos State High Court in Ikeja how her brother, Nelson, stabbed their father, Sunday Oamen, to death with a broken bottle.
Nelson is facing one count of murder contrary to Section 221 of the Criminal Law of Lagos, 2011, before Justice Hakeem Oshodi.
According to the prosecutor, M. T. Adewoye, Nelson was 33-year-old when he committed the offence on September 18, 2015, at their residence, Block 272, Flat 4, Abesan Estate, Lagos State.
At Tuesday’s proceedings, Patience stated that though Nelson had a cordial relationship with their father, the relationship was sometimes strained because of Sunday’s refusal to give the defendant money. Read more
Lagos targets N73.8bn monthly IGR in 2020 (Guardian)
Lagos State government Tuesday revealed that it targets about 73.86 bn monthly Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) to finance the state’s 2020 N1.169trn budget.
The Commissioner for Economic Planning and Budget, Sam Egube, providing detailed analysis of 2020 budget, said the state government projected IGR for 2020 is N886.041bn.
He disclosed that the state government hopes to achieve the IGR target through expanding the tax net through the deployment of technology and other initiatives, which includes massive investments in technology and other facilities to improve the efficiency in operations of all revenue-generating agencies. Read more
Anti-Boko Haram troops allege neglect, threaten to back out (Punch)
Troops of the 159 Battalion, Geidam Sector 2, Yobe State, have threatened to abandon duties in protest against the treatment meted out to them by the Nigerian Army.
The soldiers, in a letter addressed to the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), the National Assembly, United Nations, African Union and other organisations, complained that they had been on counterinsurgency missions in the North-East since 2016.
According to their petition published by online news medium, SaharaReporters.com, the soldiers, who are from 1 Battalion of the Nigerian Army in Birnin Kebbi, Kebbi State, stated that many of them have fallen into depression as a result of the situation. Read more
Wike swears in 4 new Judges (Guardian)
Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers has sworn in four new judges into the states judiciary and charged them to show more commitment in the administration of justice.
He made the call at the swearing in of four judges, which comprised three judges of the State High Courts and one Customary Court of Appeal judge on Tuesday in Port Harcourt.
The governor urged the judges to adhere to their oath of office while performing their duties.He said, “It is easy to take oath of office and difficult to abide by the oath of office. Read more
DR Congo measles: More than 6,000 dead in world’s worst outbreak (BBC)
The number of people killed by a measles epidemic in the Democratic Republic of Congo has passed 6,000, the World Health Organization (WHO) has said.
The WHO says the epidemic is the world’s largest and fastest moving.
Around 310,000 suspected measles cases have been reported since the start of 2019, the WHO says.
The Congolese government and the WHO launched an emergency vaccination programme last September. Read more
Policeman run over in hit-and-run while trying to stop car (Metro)
The wife of a hero police constable who was mowed down by a car he tried to stop has shared a photo of her husband’s injuries in hospital.
Jon Casey is in a serious but stable condition after the hit-and-run in Woodford Green, north east London in the early hours of Monday. In a bid to encourage witnesses to come forward, his wife Donna Casey posted a picture of his bloodied face on Facebook. She wrote: ‘He is a father of 3 boys, a son, a brother and my best friend. ‘We want the public to see what these people will do to get away from justice so please share this picture!’ Read more
Putin on surprise visit to Assad as Mideast boils (Guardian)
Russian President Vladimir Putin met Syria’s Bashar al-Assad Tuesday during a surprise visit to Damascus as the prospect of war between Iran and the United States loomed over the region.
In one of the highest-profile assassinations in the troubled Middle East’s recent history, Washington killed top Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani Friday, triggering vows of bloody revenge from Tehran and its allies.
On his first visit to the capital since the start of the Syrian conflict nearly nine years ago, Putin greeted the Russian forces stationed there on the occasion of the Orthodox Christmas.
Russia’s 2015 military intervention was decisive in saving Assad’s regime and Putin hailed the latest advances made by Syrian government forces during his visit. Read more
Iran launches ballistic missiles at US troops in Iraq in ‘revenge’ (Metro)
Iran has launched ‘tens’ of missiles at air bases in Iraq where US troops are stationed. State TV said the attacks were ‘revenge’ for the killing of General Qasem Soleimani in a US drone attack near Baghdad Airport on the orders of Donald Trump. They said the operation was called ‘Martyr Soleimani’ and that the missiles were launched by the Revolutionary Guard aerospace division. They were directed at Al Assad air base in Anbar province and Erbil base in northern Iraq. As yet, there are no reports of damage or casualties from the attack. Read more
Sadio Mane crowned Africa’s 2019 Player of the Year (Guardian)
Liverpool star Sadio Mane was crowned on Tuesday as Africa’s 2019 Player of the Year for the first time at an awards gala in Egypt on Tuesday.
The 27-year old Senegalese striker was up against his Liverpool teammate Mohamed Salah, the Egyptian who won the award the last two years, and Algerian Riyad Mahrez of Manchester City.
“I am really happy and at the same time I am really proud to win this award,” said Mane at the ceremony organised by the Confederation of African Football in the Egyptian Red Sea city of Hurghada.
“It’s a big day for me.” Read more
Man City outclass Man Utd to close in on League Cup final (Guardian)
Manchester City gained revenge for derby defeat to Manchester United last month by teaching their city rivals a lesson in a 3-1 League Cup semi-final, first-leg win at Old Trafford on Tuesday.
The holders were rampant before the break as Bernardo Silva’s wonder strike, Riyad Mahrez’s cool finish and an own goal from Andreas Pereira put City well on course for a third straight League Cup final.
United’s captain for the evening Marcus Rashford restored some pride for the hosts to reduce the deficit 20 minutes from time, but they face a huge task when the sides meet again for the second leg on January 29. Read more
Chelsea will offer Olivier Giroud to Lyon in deal for Moussa Dembele (Metro)
Chelsea are hoping that an offer of Olivier Giroud will tempt Lyon into parting with striker Moussa Dembele during the January transfer window. Frank Lampard is keen to add a striker to his squad this month and Dembele has emerged as one of his primary targets, as he looks to lighten the goal-scoring burden on Tammy Abraham. Lyon are adamant that they do not want to sell the 23-year-old, releasing a statement confirming as much, and Chelsea have reportedly had an initial offer of around £34m turned down. However, the Blues plan to return with another offer which includes out of favour striker Olivier Giroud in the hope that the former Arsenal man will sweeten the deal, report the Sun. Read more
Iwobi, Ndidi make African MVP list (Punch)
Super Eagles duo, Alex Iwobi and Wilfred Ndidi, have been listed among the top five most valuable African players in Europe, Sports Extra reports.
The CIES Football Observatory algorithm released on Tuesday, listed both Eagles stars.
Ndidi has been in imperious form this season, playing a major role in the Foxes’ blistering start to the campaign.
The 22-year-old’s performances for the King Power outfit have seen him linked with a mega move to Arsenal. Read more
We’re not here for a walk’, Zidane says of Super Cup (Guardian)
Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane said his team is solely focused on lifting the Spanish Super Cup trophy ahead of this week’s revamped four-team competition taking place in Saudi Arabia.
“We’re not coming here for a walk,” Zidane said at a news conference Tuesday, on the eve of his team’s semi-final against Copa del Rey holders Valencia in Jeddah.
“It’s the first edition in Saudi Arabia and the competition is a great hope. It’s an important competition and we want to give our all to play a good match tomorrow (Wednesday),” said Zidane.
“It’s a one-off match. It’s not like playing in La Liga. We’re both playing away and it’s just one match. Everything changes but our mentality, it doesn’t change.” Read more
Igali targets eight Olympics spots (Punch)
President of the Nigeria Wrestling Federation, Daniel Igali, hopes to consolidate on the achievements of 2019 by having at least eight wrestlers represent the country at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan.
In a statement released by Emeka Dennar, Media Officer of the NWF on Tuesday, Igali said the country would participate in qualifying tournaments to ensure more wrestlers joined Odunayo Adekuoroye, the only Nigerian that has qualified for the Olympics.
He also said the federation would ensure everyone that has qualified get a minimum of 20 matches before the games. Read more
Great Britain through to face Nick Kyrgios and Australia in ATP Cup quarter-finals (Metro)
Great Britain will take on Australia in the quarter-finals of the ATP Cup, after Belgium fought back to beat Bulgaria in Sydney. Britain had earlier beaten Moldova 3-0 to keep their hopes of progressing as Group C winners alive, but they needed David Goffin and co. to come up trumps to ensure their passage to the final eight. Dimitar Kuzmanov had put the Bulgarians in front, thumping Steve Darcis 6-0 6-3 and things looked bleak for Britain when Grigor Dimitrov took the first set against Goffin.
But the world No. 11 fought back to win, before doubles pairing Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen did the same to Alexandar Lazarov and Dimitrov to send the Brits through. Read more
Malaga suspend coach Victor Sanchez over explicit video (BBC)
Spanish side Malaga have suspended head coach Victor Sanchez after an explicit video of the 43-year-old was posted on social media.
The second-tier side said an investigation had been launched.
Writing on Twitter, Sanchez said he had been blackmailed over the video prior to it being published.
“I am being subjected to a crime against my privacy with harassment and extortion,” he said.
“The matter is in the hands of the police and I entrust myself to follow their instructions. Read more
‘Fury, Wilder’s fight points to a historic heavyweight event’ (Guardian)
Tyson Fury’s rematch with Deontay Wilder is the most significant in two decades of the heavyweight division, according to the 5 Live Boxing team.
Briton Fury and Wilder will meet on 22 February having drawn in 2018.
The American’s WBC title will be on the line, meaning Fury could become a world champion for the first time since 2015.
“I think it is the biggest heavyweight fight since Evander Holyfield and Lennox Lewis in 1999,” said BBC Sport boxing correspondent Mike Costello. Read more
Togo national football team attack: Survivors remember machine gun ambush, 10 years on (BBC)
On 8 January 2010, the Africa Cup of Nations in Angola was just days away.
I was in the province of Cabinda, preparing to cover Group B for the BBC World Service, and was also charged with handing over the BBC African Footballer of the Year trophy to the newly-crowned winner, Ivory Coast captain Didier Drogba.
As the day wore on, unconfirmed reports of a shooting, apparently involving the Togo national team, started coming through. The detail was sketchy, but it was clear that something serious had happened.
Just how serious was spelled out when I encountered the squad, walking back to their hotel in Cabinda city. Read more