APC will rule Nigeria beyond 2023, says Oshiomhole (Nation)
National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Comrade Adams Oshiomhole has expressed confidence that the party will continue to rule the country after the expiration of the second term of President Muhammadu Buhari in 2023. Speaking at a meeting with governors of the party on the platform of Progressive Governors Forum, Oshiomhole called for synergy among party members to move the party and the country forward. While admitting that the task of leading the party has been quite challenging, Oshiomhole said: “It is quite a challenging experience for me. I try to compare myself as a governor and now as chairman of a party, coming in at the eve of primaries and dealing with fall outs of the previous congresses. And then proceeding to conduct elections. Read more
Buhari not about to gag the Press —Lai Mohammed (Punch)
Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, has said that the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration is not about to gag the media. He instead called on the Nigerian media to regulate itself. He said this during the visit of members of the Broadcasting Organisations of Nigeria to his office on Friday in Abuja. Read more
Buhari travels to Japan Sunday, returns August 31 (Punch)
President Muhammadu Buhari will travel to Japan on Sunday to attend the Seventh Tokyo International Conference on African Development, the Presidency has said. The TICAD7 will take place in the City of Yokohama from August 28 to 30. The President is expected back on August 31. TICAD6 was held in Nairobi, Kenya in 2016 and Buhari also attended it. Read more
Why we are partnering Niger government on ranch- CBN (Guardian)
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) says its partnership with the Niger state government for a ranch at the Bobi grazing reserve is to ensure local production of milk. Mr Anthony Ifechukwu, Special Adviser on Development Finance to the CBN governor Godwin Emefiele, stated this during an inspection of work at the Bobi grazing reserve with the state Gov. Abubakar Bello of Niger. He noted that the local production of milk had become necessary to create jobs, adding that Nigeria was spending 1.5billion dollars a year on milk importation. Read more
Civilian JTF critical to ending insurgency, Zulum insists (Nation)
Borno State Governor, Babagana Zulum, on Friday insisted that Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF) is critical to ending insurgency in his State. He canvassed for supports for the CJTF in collaborating with security personnel to end the insurgency. He spoke with State House correspondents after meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. Read more
Don’t comment on Yari’s corruption investigation, APC Zamfara warns members (Punch)
The Zamfara State chapter of the All Progressives Congress on Friday told its members not to comment on the ongoing investigation of ex-governor Abdul’Aziz Yari by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission. The state party Chairman, Lawal Liman, said the decision was to allow the EFCC and ICPC to conclude their investigations without interference. Read more
SSANU, NASU threaten full strike over non-implementation of 2009 agreement (Punch)
The Senior Staff Association of Nigeria and Non Academic Staff Union on Friday urged the Federal Government to honour their 2009 agreement to avoid a total strike. The Ahmadu Bello University branch of the two unions made their stand known while addressing a joint press briefing at SSANU secretariat, main campus, Samaru, Zaria, Kaduna State. Read more
We’ll tap Edo’s status as cradle of culture to drive tourism, Obaseki assures (Nation)
The Edo State Governor, Mr Godwin Obaseki, has assured that the state government will tap the state’s strategic endowments as a cradle of culture and civilisation to drive tourism and attract investment to its art sector. The governor noted that his administration is taking positive steps to revive and promote the rich cultural heritage of Edo people. Obaseki made the pledge while delivering a speech during the second phase of Benin Art Exhibition, entitled “Art of Benin Kingdom: Complimenting Igue Festival and Coronation of Oba,” organised by the National Gallery of Art and the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture, in Benin City, the Edo State capital. Read more
Taraba NYSC apprehends three with fake certificates (Punch)
The National Youths Service Corps has handed over three men, posing as graduates of tertiary institutions, caught in possession of fake certificates to the police. Mrs Florence Yaakugh, the Taraba Coordinator of NYSC, on Friday, said the suspects were apprehended with the fake certificates during the screening of prospective Batch B Stream II corps members at the orientation camp in Jalingo. Read more
Truck crushes Army officer to death in Ogun (Guardian)
A truck loaded with granite on Friday crushed an Army officer identified as R. A. Nata’ala to death in Iyana Mortuary area of Abeokuta. The accident was said to have occurred around 10:30 a.m. According to an eyewitness, the victim was on his motorcycle with number plate: PKA 567 QD when a truck with registration number JJJ 833 XW had brake failure. Read more
Lagos court remands 9 ‘Yahoo Boys’ in Ekiti prison (Punch)
A Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos State, has given the order to remand nine suspected internet fraudsters in Ado-Ekiti prison, pending the hearing of criminal charges filed against them. The presiding judge and designated vacation judge for the FHC in the Southwest, Justice Nicholas Oweibo, gave the order on Thursday when the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Ibadan zonal office, arraigned the suspects before the court. Read more
Kenya northern white rhinos: Vets harvest eggs from last two females (BBC)
A team of vets has successfully managed to harvest 10 eggs from the last two surviving female northern white rhinos in Kenya, in an unprecedented procedure. It is hoped the harvested eggs will be fertilised using frozen sperm from a deceased northern white rhinoceros. The last male, who was named Sudan, died in March 2018. Read more
Sudan floods kill 54 since July (Guardian)
Rain and flash floods have killed 54 people in Sudan since the start of July and affected nearly 200,000, the United Nations said Friday. The worst affected area is While Nile state in the south but Khartoum and other regions have also been affected. “More than 37,000 homes have been destroyed or damaged,” the UN said, quoting figures from the government body it partners with in the crisis response. Read more
Amazon fires: Brazil threatened over EU trade deal (BBC)
France and Ireland say they will not ratify a huge trade deal with South American nations unless Brazil does more to fight fires in the Amazon. French leader Emmanuel Macron said President Jair Bolsonaro had lied to him about his stance on climate change. There are currently a record number of fires in the Amazon rainforest – a major source of oxygen for the world. Read more
Mum helped rapist sons hide body of girl they raped (Metro)
Two young brothers gang-raped and strangled a six-year-old girl before their mother helped them dispose of her body, police said. The unnamed victim was said to have been lured to their house with sweets before the boys sexually attacked and murdered her. The girl’s body was found dumped on Wednesday after the mum confessed to police that she helped her children. Read more
Russian nuclear accident: Medics fear ‘radioactive patients’ (BBC)
Russian medics who treated radiation victims after a military explosion in the Arctic had no protection and now fear they were irradiated themselves. Two of the medics in Arkhangelsk spoke to BBC Russian about the victims’ evacuation, on condition of anonymity. Five nuclear engineers died on 8 August when an “isotope-fuel” engine blew up at the Nyonoksa test range, officials said. Two military personnel also died. Read more
Mother sobs ‘I’m not a bad mom’ as she’s charged with leaving her baby in hot car (Metro)
A mother sobbed ‘I’m not a bad mom’ as she was charged with leaving her baby in a car on a hot day. Stacey Holly, 37 could be heard remonstrating with a police officer as he charged her with child abuse and child endangerment. She left the five month-old girl in her white Cadillac Escalade while visiting a Target store in Goodyear, Arizona, in June with her sister and older daughter. Read more
Israeli teenage girl killed in West Bank bomb attack (BBC)
A 17-year-old Israeli girl has been killed in a bomb attack near a Jewish settlement in the occupied West Bank, the Israeli military says. Rina Shnerb had been hiking with her brother and father near the Ein Bubin spring outside Dolev when an improvised explosive device was detonated. It was not clear if the device was thrown or had been planted there. Read more
Homemade bomb wounds three near Israeli settlement: army (Guardian)
A blast from a homemade bomb wounded three people in an attack near an Israeli settlement in the occupied West Bank on Friday, Israel’s army said, while medics reported one of the injured in critical condition. “Three civilians who were in a nearby spring were injured in an IED blast,” the army said in a statement. “One of the civilians is being treated at the scene while the remaining two were evacuated by (army) helicopter to a hospital for further medical treatment.” Read more
Four dead, 33 missing after Indonesia ferry fire (Punch)
At least four people died and nearly three dozen were missing after a passenger ferry went up in flames off Indonesia’s Java island, authorities said Friday. The boat was travelling from Indonesia’s second-biggest city Surabaya to Balikpapan on Borneo island with some 277 people aboard when it caught fire Thursday evening, according to police. Read more
Lawnmower blade fell of back of truck and sliced passing cyclist’s leg off (Metro)
A cyclist whose leg was sliced off by a lawnmower blade that fell off the back of a passing truck has sued the Ford Motor Company. Nathan Godfried, 68, claims the car manufacturer is responsible for the freak accident, because it manufactured the mower to blame between 1955 and 1966. He wants $1 million in damages over the August 2013 accident along Route 2 in Passadumkreag, Maine, over claims the mower was defective. Read more
David Koch: Billionaire Republican donor dies aged 79 (BBC)
Billionaire David Koch, a major donor to the Republican party, has died aged 79. He had been suffering from cancer. The former majority owner of Koch Industries was ranked by Forbes below brother Charles as the 11th richest person in the world. Together they had a huge influence on the conservative movement and bankrolled causes pushing for small government and a free economy. Read more
Liberia’s new coach Peter Butler ‘not in it for the money’ (BBC)
Liberia’s newly appointed coach Peter Butler has insisted that he has not taken the role for ‘financial gain’. The Englishman was talking after his meetings with the Liberia Football Association (LFA) on Thursday. He has signed a one-year deal with a mandate to qualify for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations and 2022 World Cup. “It was an opportunity, which really I didn’t want to turn down. So it is not a money move. I can assure you,” Butler told BBC Sport. Read more
Jurgen Klopp predicts Nicolas Pepe and Granit Xhaka will start for Arsenal’s clash against Liverpool (Metro)
Jurgen Klopp believes Unai Emery will make two key changes for Arsenal’s clash with Liverpool, one includes giving a first start to the Gunners’ record signing Nicolas Pepe. The Ivory Coast international has not yet started a match since his £72 million move from Lille earlier this summer but impressed in his second-half cameo during Arsenal’s 2-1 win over Burnley last Saturday. Pepe could secure his place in Emery’s starting XI this weekend as Arsenal face Liverpool at Anfield on Saturday evening. Read more
Bayern Munich’s Sanches set for Lille move (Guardian)
Bayern Munich’s unsettled Portuguese midfielder Renato Sanches is set to sign a five-year contract with Ligue 1 side Lille, a source close to the French club said on Friday. The 22-year-old was expected to arrive in northern France on Friday to undergo a medical before closing the deal with a club who will compete in the Champions League group stage after finishing second in Ligue 1 last season. Read more
Fernando Torres: Former Liverpool and Chelsea striker retires after final match (BBC)
Spanish World Cup-winning striker Fernando Torres has played his final professional match before retirement. The former Atletico Madrid, Liverpool and Chelsea forward, 35, finished his career in Japan with Sagan Tosu. They lost his final game 6-1 to a Vissel Kobe side featuring former team-mates Andres Iniesta and David Villa. Iniesta wrote Torres an open letter, in which he said “it’s been a wonderful journey, it has taken us to every corner of the world”. Read more
Juan Mata admits Manchester United transfer worry: ‘I did not know what would happen’ (Metro)
Juan Mata has admitted he thought Manchester United could sell him over the summer – even though he wanted to stay at the club. Mata signed for United back in January 2014 after being frozen out Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea side and quickly became an important cog in the starting XI, appearing in every game in his first full Premier League season at Old Trafford. Read more
Newcastle not in crisis but need results —Manager (Punch)
Newcastle United’s poor start to the season has been blown out of proportion but the best way for the club to stem the “mini-crisis” is to start winning games, manager Steve Bruce said on Friday. Newcastle lost their first two league games against Arsenal and promoted Norwich City and the low-key performances have made critics question whether Bruce was the right man to replace Rafa Benitez. Read more
David Silva: Pep Guardiola thought Man City midfielder would ‘suffer’ in England (BBC)
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola admitted he thought midfielder David Silva would “suffer” playing in England due to his stature. Silva is in line to make his 400th appearance for City in their Premier League game at Bournemouth on Sunday. It is the 33-year-old’s final season in England, having won four league titles, four League Cups and two FA Cups. Read more
Dimitar Berbatov explains why he ‘f***ing loves’ Arsenal stars Aubameyang and Lacazette and issues warning to Liverpool (Metro)
Dimitar Berbabtov has explained why he ‘f***ing loves’ Arsenal stars Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette. Gabon striker Aubameyang has enjoyed a superb start to the 2019-20 Premier League season, scoring two goals in two games to help Arsenal shoot to the top of the table. French World Cup winner Lacazette was also on target in Arsenal’s 2-1 victory over Burnley last weekend and Manchester United hero Berbatov is full of praise for the duo. Read more
Conor McGregor: Former UFC champion ‘in the wrong’ over Dublin pub altercation (BBC)
Former two-weight UFC champion Conor McGregor says he was “in the wrong” and will “face what’s coming” after an altercation in a Dublin pub in April. Video footage of the incident released earlier in August appears to show McGregor, 31, punch a man in the head. The Irishman, who announced his mixed martial arts retirement in March, says seeing the video is “like a dagger into my heart”. Read more
Marcel Kittel: German sprinter announces retirement from cycling (BBC)
German sprinter Marcel Kittel says he has retired from cycling because he “lost all motivation to keep torturing myself on a bike”. The 31-year-old announced in May he was taking a break from the sport because he was “exhausted”. But Kittel, who has 19 grand tour stage wins, now says he will not return. “Can I and do I want to continue to make the sacrifices needed to be a world-class athlete?” said Kittel, who left Team Katusha Alpecin in May. Read more