2027: 5 PDP govs calls on Atiku to support El-Rufai/Obi ticket (NewTelegraph)
Five governors of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have reportedly firmed up plans with the party’s presidential candidate in the last elections, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar to sink the party in favour a Nasir El-Rufai/Peter Obi ticket in the 2027 Presidential Election.
El-Rufai, the immediate past governor of Kaduna State recently called for alliance and coalition across political divides, which critics have interpreted as a conclusion on his part that he would not pursue his 2027 political ambition on a PDP ticket.
It was gathered that he met Atiku several times in recent weeks which was heightened when they jointly paid a condolence visit to the family of the late elder statesman and Niger Delta Chieftain, Edwin Clark last week. Read more
EFCC operatives guard Abuja court as Yahaya Bello’s trial resumes (Punch)
Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission have manned the Federal High Court in Abuja, as the trial of former Kogi State governor Yahaya Bello on alleged fraud charges resumed on Monday.
The operatives were wielding various brands of guns and blocked one of the major roads leading to the court complex with one of their vehicles.
Apart from guns, dogs and other weapons have been fully deployed at the court entrance by the security men. Read more
IPMAN threatens strike over N100b unpaid bridging claims (Guardian)
The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) has issued a seven-day ultimatum to the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) to pay outstanding bridging claims totaling N100 billion.
IPMAN has threatened to withdraw its services nationwide if the payment is not received within the stipulated timeframe.
The ultimatum follows the NMDPRA’s alleged failure to address the debt, despite promises made 40 days prior in the presence of the National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu. Read more
Bello Turji will be eliminated soon – Military (Channels)
The Nigerian military has once again assured Nigerians that notorious bandits’ leader, Bello Turji, is being tracked and will be eliminated very soon.
The Chief of Defence Operations, Major General Emeka Onumajuru, disclosed this during an interview on Channels Television’s breakfast programme, The Morning Brief, on Monday.
Major General Onumajuru said that the military is aware of Turji’s current location but said he will not discuss that further. Read more
Fire destroys over 100 shops at Zamfara central market (DailyTrust)
About 103 shops have been reportedly razed by fire which gutted the perishable items section of the Central Market, Gusau in Zamfara State.
Although, the cause of the fire was not yet officially revealed, one of the firefighters linked it to an electric surge, saying the fire started shortly after electricity was restored to the market.
The fire was said to have started around 10:30 pm on Sunday and raged for hours before it was put out around 2am on Monday by men of the federal and Zamfara State fire services. Read more
Portable set to release new EP “Ogo Wanted” amid clash with Ogun govt (Nation)
Controversial singer Habeeb Okikiola, popularly known as Portable, is gearing up to release a new EP titled “Ogo Wanted”.
This announcement comes on the heels of his recent legal troubles with the Ogun State government.
Portable was declared wanted by the police for conspiracy, assault and attempted murder, among other charges. Read more
Aiyedatiwa sworn in as Ondo 7th governor (Vanguard)
Dr Lucky Aiyedatiwa has been inaugurated as the 7th governor of Ondo State.
The ceremony took place at the Ondo State Sports Complex in Akure, the state capital.
Aiyedatiwa took his oath of office just after his deputy Olayide Adelami around 12:59 pm.
The immediate family members of the governor and his deputy were at the swearing-in ceremony. Read more
Tate McRae says Britney Spears comparisons are ‘flattering and scary’ (Billboard)
Tate McRae gets why she keeps getting compared to Britney Spears. The 21-year-old Canadian pop star who first came into our lives as a tween finalist on the 2016 season of So You Think You Can Dance has mastered the art of dance pop temptation in videos like the one for her slinky new single, “Sports Car,” in which McRae whisper sings through a series of provocative outfits and high-energy dance scenarios that bear the unmistakable influence of Brit.
Making the rounds promoting her just released third LP, So Close to What, McRae is not shying away from the Spears talk, while also telling the U.K.’s Independent that she’s also feeling “so much more confident in my taste and the way I am as a person” these days. Noting that she started writing music when she was just 16 and “knew nothing,” McRae said that her 2022 debut album, I Used to Think I Could Fly, feels like a lifetime ago. Read more
Kenyan officer deployed to Haiti killed in violent gang encounter (AfricaNews)
A Kenyan police officer deployed to Haiti to assist in combating violent gangs was killed during a confrontation with one of the gangs, according to Kenyan officials on Sunday.
The incident occurred in the Artibonite region, where Kenyan forces were engaged in operations to address gang violence.
The Kenyan mission reported that the officers were responding to a request for assistance from residents in Pont-Sonde. Read more
German Elections: CDU wins, Merz aims for coalition by Easter (Euronews)
With all constituencies counted, the centre-right Christian Democratic Union has claimed victory, while minnows, including the left-conservative BSW, barely missed the threshold to enter parliament.
The centre-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and its leader Friedrich Merz were the big winners of German federal elections on Sunday with 28% of the vote, provisional results confirmed.
The Alternative for Germany (AfD) was second with 20%, doubling its vote share from Germany’s last election in 2021, which turned out to be the best result for a far-right party in the country since World War II. Read more
Ukraine marks invasion’s 3rd anniversary with support mired in uncertainty (AlJazeera)
Leaders from the European Union and Canada have gathered in Ukraine in a show of unity as Kyiv marks the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday hailed the “heroism” of his country as he welcomed European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau among other senior officials. However, there was no representative from the United States, amid growing uncertainty over Washington’s support.
“Three years of resistance. Three years of gratitude. Three years of absolute heroism of Ukrainians,” said Zelenskyy. “I thank everyone who defends and supports it.” Read more
John Oliver is trolling Meta with a new, memorably-named website (Mashable)
With Meta having recently made the decision to overhaul its Hateful Content policy on Facebook and Instagram — essentially allowing more discriminatory content in the name of free speech — John Oliver decided to take a deep dive.
In the latest Last Week Tonight episode above the host goes through Facebook’s problematic history of content moderation, ending with some takeaways on what users can do about it.
“There is one small way you can actually fuck with Meta, and that is by making yourselves a bit less valuable to them. Remember, advertising makes up 98 percent of Meta’s revenue, and a key component is them being able to offer companies the ability to micro-target you,” says Oliver. Read more
Donald Trump argues with reporter over Ukraine question (BBC)
Donald Trump clashed with a journalist during a press conference with Finland’s President Sauli Niinistö.
Reuters journalist Jeff Mason asked Mr Trump what he wanted Ukrainian President Zelensky “to do about [former] Vice President Joe Biden and his son.”
Trump refused to answer and kept pressing Mason to ask the Finnish president a question. Read more
Super Falcons star nominated for Liga F POTM award (CompleteSports)
Super Falcons forward Gift Monday has been nominated for Spanish Liga F’s Player of the Month for February.
Monday was recognised for her impressive displays for Tenerife during the month.
The 23-year-old scored two goals in three league appearances for Tenerife in the month under review. The striker scored one goal each in Eder Maestre’s side league games against Sevilla and Valencia. Read more
D’Tigers qualify for 2025 Afrobasket as Group B teams sail through (Guardian)
Nigeria has joined the three other countries in Group B of the 2025 Afrobasket qualifiers, Cape Verde, Libya, and Uganda, in qualifying for this year’s final championship slated for Angola even before yesterday’s final round of games in Libya.
Nigeria won two games and lost three to garner seven points, same with Uganda, which was adjudged good enough to see the D’Tigers through even if they lost yesterday’s final game against Cape Verde.
Yesterday’s final qualification games in Libya were just to fulfill the fixtures as all four sides from Group B will be in Angola. D’Tigers defeated Libya in their opening game and also beat Uganda to atone for the three losses they recorded in the first qualifying window, but former champions, Morocco and Central African Republic (CAR) were not that lucky as they failed to make the grade in groups A and D respectively. Read more
Timberwolves’ Jaylen Clark exits with neck pain after hard fall (ESPN)
The short-handed Minnesota Timberwolves had their rotation thinned further when guard Jaylen Clark left their game against the Oklahoma City Thunder because of neck pain from an awkward fall on the court in the third quarter Sunday night.
Clark got a steal and attacked the basket for an off-balance layup attempt against Oklahoma City 7-footer Isaiah Hartenstein before he landed on his back and banged his head on the floor while his neck jerked backward.
Clark was down for a while before being slowly helped up and guided to the locker room. The Timberwolves eventually ruled him out for the remainder of Minnesota’s 130-123 loss. Read more
Kean out of hospital after collapsing on pitch (BBC)
Fiorentina striker Moise Kean has been discharged from hospital following tests after he collapsed on the pitch on Sunday.
The Italy forward suffered a head injury during his side’s 1-0 defeat at Hellas Verona.
Kean played on for six minutes after colliding with the knee of defender Pawel Dawidowicz. Read more
Former Jets quarterback Bill Demory dead at 74 (NYPost)
A Jets quarterback who filled in when Joe Namath went down with an injury died earlier this month.
Bill Demory, 74, passed away on Feb. 14 from prostate cancer and Parkinson’s, according to an online obituary. He was signed by the Jets in 1973 after playing his college ball at Arizona, where he threw 28 touchdowns in three seasons. Read more