Bayelsa Poll: INEC adjourns collation till Monday noon (Channels)
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), on Sunday night, adjourned the collation of results in the November 11, 2023, Bayelsa State Governorship Election till Monday noon.
Results from six of the eight local government areas in the state namely Kolokuma/Opokuma, Ogbia, Yenegoa, Sagbama, Nembe and Ekeremor have been collated. The remaining local government areas are Brass and Southern Ijaw.
Prof Faruq Kuta, who is the Vice Chancellor of the Federal University of Technology, Minna, and the state Returning Officer for the election in Bayelsa adjourned the exercise on Sunday night. Read more
PDP, LP kick as Uzodimma, Ododo win, protests in Bayelsa (Punch)
The Peoples Democratic Party and the Labour Party on Sunday cried foul as Governor Hope Uzodimma, the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, was declared the winner of Saturday’s governorship poll in Imo State by the Independent National Electoral Commission.
The electoral body affirmed Uzodimma’s re-election, having won in all the 27 local government areas of the state.
The governor clinched a second term in office after scoring a total of 540, 008 votes, the commission stated. Read more
Bayelsa, Imo, Kogi polls marred by violence, vote-buying (Leadership)
Widespread voter inducement and electoral violence were recorded in the governorship elections in Kogi, Imo and Bayelsa states yestyerday.
Field reports from observers deployed by civil society organisations (CSOs) showed that violence, vote buying, and other forms of electoral malpractices characterised the conduct of the election.
This is just as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and other security agencies made several arrests over vote buying and electoral violence. Read more
A’Ibom plans 32-day fiesta to celebrate Christmas, promote tourism (Guardian)
Akwa Ibom State Government is leaving no stone unturned in preparations for a memorable tourism events this Yuletide, beginning December 1.
According to the Commissioner for Culture and Tourism, Sir Charles Udoh, who spoke with newsmen in Uyo, on Friday, “preparations for the annual Christmas Village (now Christmas Park) and the Akwa Ibom Carols Festival are in top gear.
Sir Udoh said the leadership direction and hospitality experience of Governor Umo Eno has engendered innovations in the planning of the two events, for the greater pleasure of participants and the interest of Akwa Ibom State. Read more
Stakeholders meet over planned protest by Lagos drivers (Punch)
The Lagos State Police Command has convened a stakeholders’ meeting aimed at addressing the planned protest by public transport drivers in the state fixed for Monday.
This was revealed in a statement signed by the state Police Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin, and posted on his X handle on Sunday.
According to Hundeyin, the leadership of the Lagos Traffic Management Authority and National Union of Road Transportation Workers were present at the meeting. Read more
Ogun targets N100b revenue in 2024 (DailyTrust)
The Ogun State Internal Revenue Service (OGIRS) has proposed to rake in N100 billion in 2024 as against the N90 billion projected revenue target for 2023.
The Executive Chairman of OGIRS, Olugbenga Olaleye, disclosed this while defending the agency’s proposed budget for 2024 at the State Treasury Board Meeting on the year 2024-2026 Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and the 2024 Budget preparation at Obas’ Complex in Abeokuta.
He said the figure proposed was achievable with the provision of needed infrastructure for the agency to drive revenue in the coming year. Read more
APC’s Ododo wins Kogi Governorship Election (Leadership)
The candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the November 11 governorship election in Kogi State, Ahmed Usman Ododo, has been declared the winner of the election.
Ododo polled a total votes of 446,237 to defeat his closest challenger,
Murtala Ajaka of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), who scored 259,052 votes, with the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dino Melaye, emerging a distant third with 46,362 votes.
The Returning Officer for the election, Prof. Johnson Urame, made the formal declaration at about 10.25pm on Sunday night. Read more
Abuja Airport incident: NSIB begins investigation (Nation)
The Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau, has been notified and has commenced investigation into a serious incident involving a Boeing 737 with Nationality and Registration Marks 5N-BYQ belonging to Aero Contractors Airlines.
This is contained in a statement signed by Dr James Odaudu, the NSIB Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, on Sunday in Abuja.
Odaudu said there was no injury or fatality. Read more
Why a South African politician touched a nerve in Kenya (BBC)
On 9 November, two men stood before Kenyans to deliver long-awaited speeches, separated by just a few hours and a few kilometres.
They were both live on television.
Both men are sworn pan-Africanists and both were after the hearts of a nation weighed down by heavy economic burdens.
But that’s where the similarities ended.
One man, President William Ruto, wore a formal blue suit. Read more
The Marvels misfires with $47m, lowest MCU opening weekend of all time (Variety)
Disney‘s Marvel Cinematic Universe is no longer a bulletproof box office franchise.
That much is clear after The Marvels misfired with $47 million in its opening weekend to land the worst debut in MCU history. Initial tracking was closer to $75 million to $80 million, but those projections shrank dramatically in recent weeks to $60 million to $65 million. With bad buzz and actors like Brie Larson unable to promote the film due to the SAG strike (which finally ended on Friday), The Marvels didn’t even match those disappointing estimates. Read more
Dutch election candidates make migration key campaign issue (VOA)
It is a familiar sight in this remote rural town: a migrant in a headscarf and thick winter coat carrying her belongings to the overcrowded reception center as a storm brews over the flat landscape.
For many here and across this nation once known as a beacon of tolerance, it is too familiar.
“Immigration is spiraling out of control,” Henk Tapper said while visiting his daughter in Ter Apel two weeks before the Netherlands votes in parliamentary elections on Nov. 22. Read more
Critics Choice Documentary Awards: Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie named best doc feature (THR)
Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie was the top winner at the 2023 Critics Choice Documentary Awards, which were handed out Sunday night.
Among the other prizes the film collected was the best narration award for Michael J. Fox. It also won best biographical documentary, best direction for Davis Guggenheim and best editing for Michael Harte for a total of five awards overall.
Elsewhere, Jon Batiste won best score for American Symphony on the heels of his five Grammy noms, including album of the year. American Symphony also was named best music doc. Read more
Lil Yachty says “hip hop is in a terrible place right now” (NME)
Lil Yachty has spoken out about the current state of affairs in hip hop, saying the genre is “in a terrible place right now”.
At Rolling Stone’s ‘Musicians on Musicians’ event in Brooklyn, Yachty expanded on his thoughts by saying rappers were afraid to take risks.
“Hip-hop is in a terrible place,” Yachty began. “The state of hip-hop right now is a lot of imitation. It’s a lot of quick, low-quality music being put out. It’s a lot less risk-taking, it’s a lot less originality… People are too safe now. Everyone is so safe. I rather take the risk than take the L.” Read more
More than 180,000 march in France against antisemitism amid Israel-Hamas war (CBS)
More than 180,000 people across France, including 100,000 in Paris, marched peacefully on Sunday to protest against rising antisemitism in the wake of Israel’s ongoing war against Hamas in Gaza.
Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne, representatives of several parties on the left, conservatives and centrists of President Emmanuel Macron’s party as well as far-right leader Marine Le Pen attended Sunday’s march in the French capital amid tight security. Macron did not attend, but expressed his support for the protest and called on citizens to rise up against “the unbearable resurgence of unbridled antisemitism.”
However, the leader of the far-left France Unbowed party, Jean-Luc Melenchon, stayed away from the march, saying last week on X, formerly Twitter, that the march would be a meeting of “friends of unconditional support for the massacre” in Gaza. Read more
Italian circus says escaped lion posed no risk (RFI)
The lion that escaped from a circus near Rome posed no threat to the public, his handler insisted Sunday, as campaigners called for Italy to ban wild animals in entertainment.
Residents of the seaside town of Ladispoli were told to stay indoors for more than five hours on Saturday evening while police, vets and circus staff tracked the lion, finally sedating and then capturing him.
Extraordinary videos published by Italian media, apparently taken by locals, showed the fully-grown lion with a shaggy mane walking through dark and deserted residential streets, padding past parked cars. Read more
Porto boss allays Sanusi injury fear (Punch)
FC Porto manager, Sérgio Conceição has shrugged off concerns that Nigeria international, Zaidu Sanusi, has suffered another injury following his early substitution in The Dragon’s 2-1 comeback win over Vitoria Guimaraes on Saturday, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.
The Nigerian drew level for Porto before he was taken off raising concerns among fans following the left-back recent injury history.
Porto suffered a shock 0-1 home league loss to Estoril last weekend and fell behind again at the Estádio Dom Afonso Henriques, with André Silva giving Guimarães a 17th-minute lead. Read more
Ghanaian strike Raphael Dwamena dies during game in Albania (AfricaNews)
Former Ghana striker, Raphael Dwamena, died on Saturday after suffering a heart attack on the pitch during a match in Albania.
The 28-year-old was the leading scorer in the Albanian league this season, scoring nine goals for his team Egnatia.
He had won nine caps for Ghana and was once considered one of the country’s rising stars, but encountered several cardiac problems over the course of his career. Read more
NPFL: Lobi Stars maintain lead as Remo, Plateau record big wins (ThisDay)
Former champions, Lobi Stars, consolidated their hold on the summit of the Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) yesterday after defeating Sporting Lagos 1-0 at the Lafia Township Stadium.
It was Sunday Chukwu’s goal in the 29th minute that made Sporting Lagos to continue with their unimpressive runs on the road in their first season in the elite division.
The win keeps Lobi at the summit with 17 points. Read more
Mauricio Pochettino sure Chelsea can compete with best after Man City thriller (BelfastTelegraph)
Mauricio Pochettino said Chelsea will approach the rest of the season confident in the knowledge they can compete with the best teams after dramatically drawing 4-4 with Manchester City at Stamford Bridge.
Cole Palmer struck a penalty in the fifth minute of stoppage time to deny the club with whom he won the Premier League title in May and snatch a sensational point at the death in west London.
City thought they had won it via Rodri’s deflected strike four minutes from the end, his effort spinning into the goal past the wrongfooted Robert Sanchez off Thiago Silva’s outstretched foot. Read more
Leylah Fernandez leads Canada to historic Billie Jean King Cup triumph (Tennis365)
Canada have won the Billie Jean King Cup for the first time in the history of the event after Leylah Fernandez clinched the finals tie with victory over Italy’s Jasmine Paolini.
The tie-clinching win by Canada’s top player Fernandez was made possible by an earlier victory for Marina Stakusic, who overcame Martina Trevisan 7-5 6-3 in the opening singles match with an unflappable display.
Fernandez, Stakusic, Rebecca Marino, Eugenie Bouchard and Gabriela Dabrowski form the victorious Canadian team that has been crowned world champions in the Billie Jean King Cup. Read more
Steven Alker holds on to win Charles Schwab Cup Championship (ESPN)
Steven Alker had to get up-and-down for par on the last three holes for a 1-under 70 that allowed him to hang on and win the Charles Schwab Cup Championship on Sunday and a payoff of just over $1 million.
Alker won the Schwab Cup a year ago. This time he did the next best thing.Steve Stricker clinched the season points list before the postseason began. By winning at Phoenix Country Club, Alker finished second in the Schwab Cup for a $500,000 bonus. The 52-year-old from New Zealand won $528,000 for the tournament, his seventh title on the PGA Tour Champions. Read more