Attacks on Ambode will fail —Lagos Renaissance Group (Punch)
The Lagos Renaissance Group on Friday said that all attacks on the person of the former governor of Lagos State, Akinwunmi Ambode would fail. In a statement signed by Daniel Awesu and Abdul-Quadri Enikanolaiye, chairman and secretary general of the group respectively, LRG condemned the anti-Ambode protests that took place at the Lagos Secretariat and the Lagos State House of Assembly on Tuesday. At the Lagos Assembly, the protesters had asked the Lagos Assembly to probe the former governor. Read more
No timeline to begin implementation of minimum wage – Labour (Nation)
The Joint National Public Service Negotiating Council (JNPSNC) has said there is no timeline on when the Federal Government would begin the full implementation of minimum wage to workers on all levels. The General Secretary, JNPSNC Alade Lawal, said this in an interview in Abuja. Lawal said that he was hopeful that both the federal government and the organised labour would arrive at a decision soon. Read more
Ondo APC dissociates from pro-Osinbajo campaign group (Nation)
The Ondo State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has dissociated itself from a group that staged support on Thursday for the Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo’s presidency in 2023. News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that a group, Southwest Youth Congress, had stormed the secretariat of the party with banners in a campaign tagged: ‘OSINBAJO 2023’. Read more
Consider your patients before embarking on strike, Obasanjo tells doctors (Guardian)
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has called on medical practitioners in the country to take into consideration their patients’ plight before embarking on strike. Obasanjo made the appeal at the opening ceremony of the National Association of Government General Medical and Dental Practitioners (NAGGMD) National Executive Council meeting in Abeokuta. Read more
INEC still in possession of 201,143 PVCs in Kogi, Bayelsa (Nation)
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said that 201,143 Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) have yet to be collected in Kogi and Bayelsa as at Sept. 20. The commission this disclosed on Thursday in a progress report on PVC collection, which it started on Sept. 2, ahead of Nov. 16 governorship elections in the two states. Read more
Pirates attack boats, kidnap councillor, one other in Rivers (Punch)
A councillor was one of two prominent persons from Bonny Local Government Area of Rivers State, who were kidnapped on Thursday by gunmen suspected to be sea pirates. The gunmen had simultaneously attacked two passenger boats along the Bonny-Port Harcourt water route, dispossessing the occupants of the boats of their money and other belongings. Read more
Gunmen kidnapped two top Civil Defence Corps officers (Punch)
Gunmen on Friday kidnapped two top officers of Nigeria Security and Civil Defence, NSCDC, while on their way to Benin from Edo north part of the state. This is coming on the heel of the kidnap of the wife of the Managing Director of Nigeria Railway Corporation three days ago. Read more
FG approves N600bn facility for power sector (Nation)
The Federal Government has approved a N600billion assurance facility for the power sector until June, 2020. The amount, which is contained in the 2020 Medium Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper (MTEF/FSP), is as a result of the failure of the Power Sector Recovery Programme (PSRP). Read more
Zamfara govt suspends women empowerment over anomalies (Punch)
The Zamfara State Women Empowerment Committee, under the office of the First Lady, Hajiya Aishatu Matawalle has suspended the distribution of women empowerment packages due to abnormalities noticed in some Local Government Areas. The chairperson of the committee, Dr Rabi Ibrahim made this disclosure to newsmen in Gusau on Friday. Read more
BUK expels 63 students, rusticates 13 others (Nation)
Bayero University, Kano (BUK) has expelled 63 students and rusticated 13 others for one year for their involvement in various forms of examination misconduct. This is contained in a statement signed by the Director, Examination, Admissions and Records (DEAR), Amina Umar-Abdullahi and issued to newsmen in Kano on Friday. Read more
2019 BBNaija: Big Brother kicks Tacha out of house over violence (Punch)
One of the housemates of the 2019 Big Brother Naija show, Tacha has been disqualified from the show. She was disqualified for being physically violent towards fellow housemate, Mercy. Tacha and Mercy had been embroiled a shouting match, which turned physical after Tacha grabbed Mercy’s hair and she, in turn, tried to defend herself with an electric iron. Read more
Trump impeachment inquiry: Ukraine ex-minister rejects Biden claim (BBC)
Ukraine’s former Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin has categorically rejected claims by Donald Trump concerning Mr Trump’s Democratic rival Joe Biden. Mr Trump has alleged, without evidence, that Mr Biden pressed for the sacking of a Ukrainian prosecutor to protect a business that employed his son. Mr Klimkin told the BBC that the prosecutor was sacked for corruption. Read more
Boris Johnson reported to police watchdog over friendship with Jennifer Arcuri (Metro)
Boris Johnson has been referred to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) to assess the possibility of a criminal investigation into misconduct in public office. He was reported by the Greater London Authority (GLA) over £126,000 of public money being awarded to companies run by Johnson’s friend Jennifer Arcuri while he was Mayor of London. Read more
Hundreds of thousands join Canada climate strikes (BBC)
Hundreds of thousands of people have joined climate strike marches across Canada, with almost 100 events planned in cities and towns. Protesters are taking part in the global climate strike movement, which has seen people around the world take to the streets. The movement wants world leaders to adopt ambitious climate change policy. Read more
Gang who used explosives to steal £35,000 from cash machines jailed (Metro)
A string of raids where thieves used explosives to blow up cash machines was foiled by officers who caught the gang red handed. Gica-Fanica Radu, 31, and Victor Coseru, 28, targeted five cash machines in central London, Kent, and Buckinghamshire earlier this year, but only succeeded once. Using a property in Ashford, Kent, as their base, the Romanian pair traveled by car to sites near to the M40 corridor and carry out their nighttime attacks. Read more
El-Salvador president takes selfie while addressing 74th UNGA (Punch)
The President of El-Salvador, Nayib Bukele, shocked his distinguished listeners at the 74th United Nations General Assembly on Thursday when he brought out his phone and took a selfie before delivering his speech. The 38-year-old president has since tweeted the august photograph via his verified Twitter handle @nayibbukele. He captioned it #UNSelfie. Read more
Joseph Wilson, US envoy who defied Bush over Iraq, dies aged 69 (BBC)
The US diplomat Joseph Wilson, who defied President George W Bush over the decision to go to war with Iraq, has died aged 69. In 2003, Mr Wilson disproved allegations used by the Bush administration as grounds for invasion that then-Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein had bought uranium in Niger. Days later, his then-wife Valerie Plame was outed as a CIA agent, in what some saw as an act of political revenge. Read more
Naga Munchetty: BBC not impartial on racism, senior bosses say (BBC)
The BBC has said it is not impartial on racism, after a backlash over its decision to uphold a complaint against Breakfast presenter Naga Munchetty. In an email to staff, director general Tony Hall and other bosses said: “Racism is not an opinion and it is not a matter for debate. Racism is racism.” It said the part of the complaint about her comments on racism was rejected. Read more
Jealous ex-boyfriend guilty of killing love rival, 18, with help of family (Metro)
A group of friends and family have been found guilty over the death of a teenager caught up in a toxic love triangle. Trainee plumber Daniel Grogan, 20, became obsessively jealous after finding out Jay Sewell, 18, was seeing his ex-girlfriend Gemma Hodder. He threatened to kill his rival, rape his mother and petrol bomb his home over hundreds of chilling WhatsApp messages, the Old Bailey heard. Read more
Orangutan with human rights to begin new life in Florida (BBC)
An orangutan which spent 20 years in an Argentine zoo is being moved to a US animal sanctuary after being granted the same legal rights as humans. Lawyers won a landmark appeal for Sandra in 2014, arguing she was being detained in Buenos Aires illegally. The ruling found her to be Argentina’s first “nonhuman person, with the right to liberty”. Read more
Iowa reporter who exposed racist tweets fired for own tweets (BBC)
An Iowa newspaper journalist who exposed racist tweets by a sports fan at the centre of a viral charity fundraiser has himself been fired after his own offensive posts resurfaced. Des Moines Register reporter Aaron Calvin has lost his job after his profile of Carson King triggered fury. The newspaper has been forced to hire extra security due to threats. Read more
Spider-Man to stay in Marvel Cinematic Universe after Sony deal (BBC)
Spider-Man fans are rejoicing after Sony Pictures and Marvel announced a third Spider-Man film with Tom Holland, allaying fears that the two companies had parted company. In August, Sony said it was “disappointed” not to be working with Disney on future Spider-Man films amid reports that they could not reach a fresh deal over the web-slinging superhero. Read more
Arsenal boss Emery defends decision to make Xhaka captain (Punch)
Arsenal manager Unai Emery hopes to change “outside” perceptions of Granit Xhaka after naming the Swiss midfielder as the Gunners’ new club captain. Xhaka has skippered Emery’s men in all six games he has played so far this season following the departure of Laurent Koscielny to Bordeaux. However, Emery had held off on naming a permanent captain until he took a vote from his players, with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Hector Bellerin, Alexandre Lacazette and Mesut Ozil making the rest of a five-man leadership group. Read more
Glenn Hoddle singles out ‘different class’ Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang ahead of Arsenal’s trip to Manchester United (Metro)
Glenn Hoddle has hailed Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang as ‘different class’ ahead of Arsenal’s trip to Manchester United, backing the forward to be a key player at Old Trafford. Aubameyang has shone in an otherwise frustrating start to the season for Arsenal, with Unai Emery’s side managing just three wins from their opening six games in the Premier League. Read more
Bernardo Silva apologises for Mendy tweet (Punch)
Bernardo Silva has sent a letter to England’s Football Association to apologise for any offence caused by a controversial tweet comparing Manchester City teammate Benjamin Mendy with a black cartoon character. Silva submitted the letter on Thursday after the FA had asked the club for their observations regarding the incident, and said he had learned a lesson. Read more
Benjamin Mendy tweet row: Bernardo Silva an exceptional person, says Pep Guardiola (BBC)
Bernardo Silva has been defended again by Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola after accusations of racism following a tweet to team-mate Benjamin Mendy. The Football Association wrote to City after Mendy was compared to a character on a packet of Conguitos – a sweet brand available in Spain and Portugal. Silva was criticised for the post and deleted it, but Guardiola has called him an “exceptional person”. Read more
Ligue 1: PSG hope for Mbappe boost after shock home loss (Punch)
Paris Saint-Germain will look to shake off a rare home league defeat this weekend when they travel to Bordeaux, where Kylian Mbappe could return from a month out with a thigh injury. Thomas Tuchel’s side, depleted by a raft of injuries, slumped to a 2-0 loss against Reims on Wednesday which ended an unbeaten 22-match run at the Parc des Princes. Read more
Manchester United star Victor Lindelof blown away by Mason Greenwood’s finishing with both feet (Metro)
Victor Lindelof believes Mason Greenwood has proven himself as a lethal two-footed finisher this season and tipped the teenager for a ‘very bright future’ with Manchester United. Greenwood, 17, has experienced a meteoric rise after breaking into Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s first-team back in March and has scored two goals in his last two appearances against Astana and Rochdale. Read more
Hazard will come good at Real Madrid —Zidane (Punch)
Zinedine Zidane insists Eden Hazard will fulfil his potential at Real Madrid despite a slow start since his 100 million euros ($109 million) move from Chelsea in the summer. Hazard picked up a thigh injury the day before Real’s opening La Liga game against Celta Vigo and missed their first three matches of the season. Read more
Formula 1: McLaren to return to Mercedes engines from 2021 season (BBC)
McLaren are to switch to Mercedes engines from the 2021 season, BBC Sport has learned. McLaren, who have used Renault engines since last year, have secured a deal that will see them powered by Mercedes at least until the end of 2024. The decision has been made as McLaren seek to return to competitiveness after a dip in fortunes in recent years. Read more
Joshua will be more agile in rematch – Hearn (Punch)
Anthony Joshua is expected to display more agility and athleticism against Andy Ruiz Jr after receiving more time to hone his body for the rematch, says promoter Eddie Hearn. Britain’s heavyweight star can avenge his shock defeat in a second world title fight with Ruiz Jr on December 7, after his preparations were disrupted before the stoppage loss at Madison Square Garden in June. Read more
Nicola Adams retains WBO flyweight title in split decision draw (BBC)
Two-time Olympic champion Nicola Adams retained her WBO world flyweight title after an unconvincing split decision draw against Mexican challenger Maria Salinas at the Royal Albert Hall. The British boxer was lacklustre in what was her first fight since October last year, with the judges scoring it 96-94 Salinas, 97-93 Adams, 95-95 draw. Read more
Sabalenka through to Wuhan finals after downing Barty (Punch)
Reigning Wuhan Open champion Aryna Sabalenka said her Friday semi-final victory over world number one Ashleigh Barty tastes sweeter than last year’s tournament win after her tough journey on this year’s tour. The 21-year-old Belarusian power-hitter proved she was back in top form and well past her slump as she dismissed Barty 7-5, 6-4 in 103 minutes — setting up a final showdown with American Alison Riske, who toppled Petra Kvitova 7-5, 7-5. Read more