Afenifere, CAN, others oppose push for Sharia in S’West (Punch)
Christian and Muslim leaders on Monday clashed over the planned inauguration of shari’a arbitration panel across the South-Western states of Ogun, Osun, Ondo, Ekiti, Oyo and Lagos by the Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs.
This comes as the proponents of the Islamic code said there was no going back on their decision to set up the panel to adjudicate and resolve issues among the South-West Muslim Ummah.
The President, Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs in Ekiti State, Dr Hammed Bakare and the Chairman of the Shari’a Committee of Oyoland, Dr Rafiu Bello, told The PUNCH in separate interviews on Monday that the shari’a panel would be inaugurated despite the opposition to it. Read more
How price of rice rose from N2500 in 2000 to N105,000 in 2024 (Vanguard)
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), and Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria made history on January 18, 2022, when they co-launched the r me Rice Pyramids on the premises of Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry, strategically located on Airport Road, Abuja, Nigeria’s capital city.
It was a celebration of success in the production of rice, Nigeria’s number one staple food. Rice production had been specifically targeted by the CBN, then under the leadership of Mr. Godwin Emefiele, through the Anchor Borrowers Programme, ABP, an initiative through which the CBN expressed determination to assist Nigerians grow their food, rather than spending scarce foreign exchange (FX) on the importation of food items that can be produced in the country.
As the then CBN governor put it, the rice pyramids were a demonstration of “the courage and persuasion of our farmers and the conviction that it is still possible to do great things in our country.” Read more
How Ooni’s intervention settled Afe Babalola, Farotimi rift (Sun)
Fresh factt have emerged on how the intervention of Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, led to the withdrawal of suit instituted by Aare Afe Babalola against Dele Farotimi, human rights lawyer and activist.
A statement by the Director of Media and Public Affairs of Ooni’s palace, Moses Olafare, explained how Ooni and some traditional rulers in Ekiti State went to Afe Babalola University (ABUAD), Ado Ekiti, on Sunday night, to plead with Babalola to withdraw the court case against Farotimi.
The monarch arrived Ado Ekiti at about 10:08 pm where he was received by Afe Babalola in company of the Vice Chancellor of ABUAD, Professor Elisabeta Smaranda Olarinde, Bursar, Pastor Joseph Modupe Babalola, PRO, Deans of various faculties and the legal team of Afe Babalola handling the case against Farotimi. Read more
FG unveils electricity sector investment opportunities at African Energy Summit (NewTelegraph)
The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr Wale Edun on behalf of the Nigerian government declared the nation’s electricity sector open for investment at the African Energy Summit in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania on Monday, January 27.
Addressing selected investors and development partners at an exclusive dinner in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, ahead of the Africa Heads of State Energy Summit, the Minister highlighted Nigeria’s electricity sector as a prime opportunity for investment, emphasizing the nation’s commitment to macroeconomic stability, clean energy goals, and achieving universal energy access under the “Mission 300” initiative.
A statement issued by the Director of information in the ministry Mohammed Manga quoted Edun assuring investors of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s participation in the Summit to drive collaborative efforts on energy access and Africa’s clean energy transition. Read more
VP Shettima seeks end to tanker explosion in nigeria (VON)
Vice President Kashim Shettima has commiserated with the people and government of Enugu State following the tragic fuel tanker fire that claimed several lives over the weekend.
He said it’s time to put an end to avoidable tanker accidents and explosions.
The fuel tanker had on Saturday veered off course and burst into flames along the Ugwu-Onyeama section of the Enugu-Onitsha Expressway. Read more
South-East PDP rejects Damagum’s stakeholders meeting (Tribune)
The South East Zone of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has dismissed a stakeholders’ meeting convened by the acting National Chairman, Ambassador Iliya Damagum, further intensifying the party’s internal crisis.
The notice for the meeting, scheduled for 2 p.m. on Tuesday at the PDP national secretariat in Abuja, was sent out on Monday by the embattled National Secretary, Senator Samuel Anyanwu.
It claimed the meeting had been summoned by the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party. Read more
Aregbesola, supporters working for PDP in Osun – APC alleges (Nation)
The Osun state chapter of the All Progressive Congress (APC) has accused the former governor of the state, Rauf Aregbesola, and his Omoluabi Progressives Group of serving as agents of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state.
APC spokesman, Kola Olabisi, stated that the Osun APC is not bothered by the exit of Aregbesola’s group from the party, alleging that the former minister had left APC since 2022.
He said: “The preposterous announcement of the so-called Omoluabi Progressives to quit the APC is a good riddance to bad rubbish. They have either been expelled or suspended from the party. How would any rational human being who has been suspended or expelled announce his resignation to the whole world again? Read more
PMI strengthens to 51.0 as economy slowly rebounds, says CBN report (Guardian)
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) reported that the PMI index reached 51.0 in December 2024, marking a significant rebound after a period of economic contraction that had persisted for several months. The last report put the PMI at 48.9 as of November last year.
PMI serves as a barometer of the prevailing direction of economic trends across various sectors, including manufacturing and services. This shows that Nigeria’s economy is on a gradual recovery after several months of underperformance.
The report said, “The composite PMI for December 2024 at 51.0 index points indicated expansion in economic activities after two consecutive months of contraction.” Read more
Bill Gates says divorcing Melinda Gates was mistake he ‘most regrets’ (Independent)
Bill Gates has cited his divorce from Melinda French Gates as the biggest regret of his life.
The 69-year-old billionaire made the candid confession during an interview with The Sunday Times. He shared that while he’s “more cheerful now,” following his 2021 divorce from Melinda, he’s not happy with how his marriage ended.
“That was the mistake I most regret,” he said.
Although the Microsoft CEO said he has experienced other failures in his life, his divorce is “at the top of the list,” he said. Read more
Grammys advert casually ‘confirms’ appearances by the world’s two biggest popstars (Metro)
A new Grammy’s promo seems to confirm Taylor Swift and Beyonce will attend the event. But will they perform? (Picture: John Shearer/Getty Images for TAS)
An ad for the Grammys seems to have casually confirmed that Taylor Swift and Beyonce will be at the awards this year, among other big names.
The ceremony for the 68th Grammy Awards is set to take place on February 2 at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.
Trevor Noah will be returning to host the ceremony for the fifth time in as many years, and he will also serve as a producer for the ceremony. Read more
Snoop Dogg loses over 500,000 social media followers after support for Donald Trump at Crypto Ball performance (HipHopVibe)
Snoop Dogg sees massive drop in followers after Trump support
Snoop Dogg is no stranger to controversy. Known for his bold personality, outspoken views, and lasting influence on hip-hop culture, he’s never shied away from making waves in the media. But his decision to perform at the Crypto Ball that supported Donald Trump on January 17 left many of his fans confused, disappointed, and even angry.
In the days following the event, the rapper’s social media profiles took a massive hit. With both his Instagram and X (formerly Twitter) accounts losing hundreds of thousands of followers, Snoop was forced to address the fallout.
His response was calm, but the damage was done. Here’s everything you need to know about the backlash Snoop faced, his response, and what it means for his career moving forward. Read more
Sundance: Building Bridges Documentary Fund unveils filmmaker grant recipients (Deadline)
The Center for Asian American Media announced at Sundance the inaugural cohort of 15 Building Bridges documentarians, whose films will receive support as part of the Building Bridges Documentary Fund.
The fund is made possible with a $4.5 million grant from the Doris Duke Foundation.
The initiative invests in storytelling about Muslims in the United States with the aim of fostering greater representation and understanding of the U.S. Muslim communities by growing the canon of high-caliber documentaries that center them, CAAM says. Read more
Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians return to devastated northern Gaza (France24)
Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians streamed into Gaza’s most heavily destroyed area on Monday after Israel opened the north for the first time since the early weeks of the war with Hamas, a dramatic reversal of their exodus 15 months ago.
As a fragile ceasefire held into a second week, Israel was told by Hamas that eight of the hostages to be freed during the deal’s first phase are dead.
Joyous crowds of Palestinians, some holding babies or pushing wheelchairs, walked along a seaside road all day and into the night, carrying bedrolls, bottles of water and other belongings. Armed and masked Hamas fighters flashed a victory sign. The crowd was watched over by Israeli tanks on a nearby hill. Read more
Survivors of Auschwitz deliver warning from history as memories die out (BBC)
Their numbers are dwindling but the voices of the Auschwitz survivors remain powerful.
“We were stripped of all humanity,” said Leon Weintraub, 99, the oldest of four who spoke beside the notorious Death Gate at the Birkenau extermination camp.
Marking 80 years since its liberation, world leaders and European royalty rubbed shoulders on Monday with 56 survivors of Hitler’s genocide of European Jews. Read more
China’s DeepSeek AI rattles Wall Street, but questions remain (VOA)
Chinese researchers backed by a Hangzhou-based hedge fund recently released a new version of a large language model (LLM) called DeepSeek-R1 that rivals the capabilities of the most advanced U.S.-built products but reportedly does so with fewer computing resources and at much lower cost.
High Flyer, the hedge fund that backs DeepSeek, said that the model nearly matches the performance of LLMs built by U.S. firms like OpenAI, Google and Meta, but does so using only about 2,000 older generation computer chips manufactured by U.S.-based industry leader Nvidia while costing only about $6 million worth of computing power to train.
By comparison, Meta’s AI system, Llama, uses about 16,000 chips, and reportedly costs Meta vastly more money to train. Read more
2025 AFCON: Nigeria to face Tunisia, Uganda,Tanzania (VON)
The Super Eagles of Nigeria are set to take on Tunisia, Uganda and Tanzania as the Final Draw for the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), tagged Morocco 2025, was concluded following a star-studded ceremony at the Mohammed V National Theatre in Rabat on Monday, giving the 24 qualified teams their path to the trophy.
The teams were drawn into six groups each containing four sides ahead of the 21st December 2025 to 18th January 2026 finals tournament, that will be spread across six host cities and nine stadia in Morocco as Africa’s best chase the continent’s most coveted trophy.
The draw, which was broadcast in over 90 countries worldwide, was conducted with the assistance of African legends Serge Aurier, Aliou Cissé, Joseph Yobo and Mustapha Hadji. Read more
13 Years After: Kwara govt honours Rashidi Yekini (Sun)
Almost 13 years ago he passed on, former Super Eagles striker, Rashidi Yekini, has finally been honoured by his state government, Kwara State.
In a statement signed by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Rafiu Ajakaye, Kwara State Governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq has approved the naming of some old and new legacy projects in the state after historic figures and leaders.
The Main-Bowl of the Kwara State Stadium is named after the late Yekini, a football legend renowned for scoring Nigeria’s first World Cup goal and the country’s highest goal scorer till date. Late Yekini hailed from Irra, in Oyun Local Government Area of Kwara State. Read more
Emma Raducanu beaten in Singapore Open first round after three-hour epic with 17 breaks of serve (Independent)
Emma Raducanu came up short in a three-hour marathon to crash out in the first round of the Singapore Open.
The British number two lost 5-7 7-5 7-5 to Spain’s Cristina Bucsa in a match featuring 17 breaks of serve.
Raducanu was playing in her first match since splitting with coach Nick Cavaday, who stepped down last week due to health issues.Read more
Chelsea breaks transfer record with $1.1m Naomi Girma deal (RTE)
Chelsea have confirmed the signing of United States defender Naomi Girma for a reported world-record fee.
The 24-year-old was unveiled on the pitch by the Women’s Super League champions ahead of Sunday’s game against Arsenal at Stamford Bridge.
She arrives from San Diego Wave for a reported $1.1 eclipsing the current record – paid by Bay FC in February 2024 for Racheal Kundananji – by $250,000. Read more
Butler suspended again after walking out of practice (BBC)
Jimmy Butler has been suspended indefinitely by the Miami Heat after a “continued pattern of disregard of team rules”.
The six-time NBA All-Star, 35, had already been suspended twice by his team this month for disciplinary issues, ruling him out of nine matches.
The Heat said he walked out of a team practice on Friday and has now been suspended again without pay. Read more
Disgraced Premier League referee comes out as gay and explains why he took cocaine (Metro)
Disgraced Premier League referee David Coote has come out as gay and says he took cocaine to ‘escape’ the ‘stresses and relentlessness of the job’.
Coote, 42, was sacked by referees’ body PGMOL in December following a ‘thorough investigation’ into his conduct.In a series of leaked videos, Coote was filmed making derogatory comments about Liverpool and former Anfield boss Jurgen Klopp, and appearing to take drugs. Read more