Buhari’s ministerial list is for all-inclusive government – Oshiomhole (Nation)
The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, on Monday, said that the 43 ministerial list submitted by President Muhammadu Buhari to the Senate for screening is to boost formation of an all-inclusive government. He was reacting to the criticism that the list is based on political patronage and not credibility. Speaking with State House correspondents after meeting President Muhammadu Buhari in the State House, he wondered how credible the people criticising the ministerial nominees are. Read more
Send list of ministerial nominees to EFCC, PDP tells Senate (Punch)
The Peoples Democratic Party on Monday urged the Senate to further give credibility to its ministerial screening by sending the names of the ministerial nominees to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission for further investigation and screening. The PDP National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Kola Ologbondiyan, in a statement also stated that the screening must have enabled the Senate to further confirm that many of the nominees presented to it by President Muhammadu Buhari include individuals, who as former governors and ministers, allegedly wrecked their states and ministries and allegedly have serious allegations of corruption, abuse of office and stealing of public funds hanging on their necks. Read more
Lawan warns over incessant killing of Nigerians in South Africa (Nation)
Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, on Monday said that adequate measures must be taken to halt the incessant killing of Nigerians in South Africa. He noted that unless necessary diplomatic steps were taken, more Nigerians were likely to be killed or molested not only in South Africa but also other countries. He reiterated that Nigeria would no longer tolerate the killing of its citizens in South Africa under any guise. Read more
How Gowon, others saved Obasanjo from impeachment – Anyim (Punch)
A former President of the Senate and ex-Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator Pius Anyim, has said members of the National Assembly were aggrieved with former President Olusegun Obasanjo, the reason why they wanted to impeach him. Anyim said the lawmakers were aggrieved that several presiding officers were removed under Obasanjo’s administration but were blackmailed from impeaching the President. Read more
INEC repositions for future challenges – National Commissioner (Nation)
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Monday said it has started repositioning and repackaging for electoral challenges ahead. INEC National Commissioner in charge of Information and Voter Education, Mr Festus Okoye, said this at a four-day workshop on media monitoring for some INEC publicity officers in Abuja. Okoye said that the commission was presently harnessing the lessons from the 2019 general election and harvesting positive recommendations aimed at improving subsequent elections. Read more
FCT Permanent Secretary assures women of inclusion in governance (Guardian)
The FCT Permanent Secretary, Mr Chinyeaka Ohaa, has assured women that more of them would be involved in FCT administration when the Minister of FCT assumes office. Ohaa gave the assurance on Monday in Abuja when he hosted the new executive members of the Abuja chapter of the National Council for Women society (NCWS). The permanent secretary said that the FCT administration was concerned about the plight of women and children which was the responsibility of the FCT Social Development Secretariat (SDS). Read more
Strike: Again, Gbajabiamila brokers truce between FG, resident doctors (Nation)
The proposed strike the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD), has again been postponed. This was sequel to a meeting between the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila and the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD), which saw the association extending the suspension of its planned strike action. The Speaker had last week through a member of the House appealed to the resident doctors to suspend the strike action, pending a meeting involving him, members of the association and officials of relevant government agencies. Read more
Makinde inaugurates committee to review contracts awarded by Ajimobi (Guardian)
Gov. Seyi Makinde of Oyo State on Monday inaugurated a 10-man committee to review projects and contracts awarded by his predecessor, Sen. Abiola Ajimobi. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the committee is led by Mr Daramola Falade-Fatila, the President of the Nigerian Council of Engineers in Oyo State. Other members are Mr Idowu Oyeleke, Mr Seun Adelore, Mr F.O Omokemi, Mr A.T Popoola and Mrs M O Adesina, Mr A A Olabiyi, Mr S O Ogunjimi, Mr T O Oduniyi and Mr O A Popoola. Read more
UNICEF, EU upgrade seven health facilities in Adamawa (Punch)
The United Nations Children’s Fund, in collaboration with the European Union, has renovated and upgraded seven Primary Health Centres in Adamawa. Dr. Halima Abdu of UNICEF Bauchi Field Office made this known on Monday in Yola at the handing over of one of the health centres in Doubeli Ward of Yola North Local Government Area. Abdu said that UNICEF had been partnering with Adamawa government in key sectors of health, nutrition, water, sanitation, hygiene, basic education and child protection. Read more
Police kill 4 suspected kidnappers in Taraba (Guardian)
The Police Command in Taraba on Monday confirmed the killing of four suspected kidnappers by policemen in Bali Local Government Area (LGA) of the state. DSP David Misal, the Police Public Relations’ Officer in the state disclosed this while speaking with newsmen in Jalingo. Misal said that the suspected kidnappers were killed in their camp located on the mountain top in Kungana area of the LGA. Read more
Police, family disagree over woman’s disappearance during road walk (Nation)
Controversy has trailed the whereabouts of a 24-year-old woman Gbemisola Alabi said to have disappeared during her routine road walk on Sunday in Ajah. Alabi, her family said was kidnapped while jogging around Monastery Road, near Novare Mall in Shongotedo, Ajah but the police said they were investigating a case of missing person since nothing points to kidnapping at the moment. According to a syndicated WhatsApp message on Monday appealing to Nigerians to assist with useful information on her whereabouts, the family had also appealed for prayers. Read more
Dark web criminal bought ‘quadrillions of Zimbabwe bank notes’ (BBC)
A drug dealer who used dark web marketplaces to ply his trade apparently used part of the proceeds to buy vast quantities of Zimbabwean cash. The FBI said Richard Castro, of Florida, had bought the equivalent of “approximately 100 quadrillion [1,000 trillion] Zimbabwe bank notes” in June 2018. Use of the currency had ended years earlier, following hyperinflation. The purchase is thought to have been part of a wider money laundering scheme. Read more
Afghan presidential candidates fear for safety after attacks (Guardian)
Candidates jockeying to become Afghanistan’s next president lashed out at the incumbent Ashraf Ghani on Monday after deadly violence cast a shadow over the first official day of campaigning. At least 20 people most of them civilians were killed and 50 others wounded Sunday when a suicide attacker and gunmen targeted the Kabul office of Ghani’s running mate, Amrullah Saleh. Read more
Boris Johnson to ‘hold out the hand’ for new Brexit deal (BBC)
Boris Johnson has pledged to “hold out the hand” and “go the extra thousand miles” to strike a new Brexit deal. During a visit to Scotland, the prime minister said the existing withdrawal agreement negotiated with European leaders was “dead” and had “got to go”. However, he said there was “every chance we can get a deal”. Read more
Russia declares state of emergency in four regions over wildfires (Punch)
Russia has declared a state of emergency in forests in four regions of Siberia and the Far East over mass wildfires, the Russian Aerial Forest Protection Service said Monday. The state of emergency has been declared for the entire Krasnoyarsk and Irkutsk regions and parts of the Republic of Buryatia and Sakha (Yakytia) Republic, the service said in a statement. According to the statement, by Monday forest wildfires were raging on nearly 3 million hectares in Russia, and extinguishing activities were underway in an area of 89,506 hectares. Read more
Brazil jail riot in Para state leaves 52 dead as gangs fight (BBC)
At least 52 people have been killed in a prison riot in Brazil which saw rival gangs battle for five hours, officials say. Gang members from one prison block invaded another part of Altamira jail in Pará state. Sixteen of the dead were decapitated and the remainder suffocated after part of the prison was set on fire, officials said at a news conference. Two prison officers who were taken hostage have since been freed. Read more
At least 19 dead, eight injured in Peru mountain road accident (Punch)
At least 19 people died and eight more were injured in a bus crash on a mountain road in Peru, police said on Monday. The crash happened in Canta province, around 100 kilometres (60 miles) from Lima at 8:30 pm (0130 GMT) on Sunday night, as travellers returned to the capital following a national holiday. The fatalities were 11 women and eight men, police colonel Jorge Castillo told the Andina press agency. No foreigners were among the victims. Read more
Old Town Road: Lil Nas X beats US singles chart record (BBC)
Country rap song Old Town Road by artist Lil Nas X has broken the record for the longest time at the top of the US singles chart. The viral hit – recently remixed with Billy Ray Cyrus – has now topped the Billboard Hot 100 for 17 weeks. Old Town Road has had 72.5 million US streams and 46,000 downloads in the past seven days. All the different versions of the song are close enough to the original, and so count towards one single total. Read more
Rapper Ras G dies aged 39 just seven months after revealing pneumonia battle and ‘heart failure’ (Metro)
Hip hop pioneer Ras G has died at the age of 39, it has been confirmed. The sad news was revealed on Monday by various friends of the musician, real name Gregory Shorter, and his record label Brainfeeder which he co-founded. In a tweet, the record label announced: ‘It is with great sadness that we say goodbye to one of our brothers, Gregory Shorter, aka RAS G. Read more
AFCON: Algeria to begin title defence against Zambia (Punch)
Algeria will begin their Africa Cup of Nations title defence at home to former champions Zambia during November, the Confederation of African Football confirmed Monday. The Desert Foxes will also visit Botswana between November 11 and 19, giving the defending champions a realistic chance to collect a maximum six points from the two matches. Zimbabwe complete Group H and the top two finishers after each nation plays the other three at home and away qualifies for the 2021 tournament in Cameroon. Read more
Manchester United in ‘final stages’ of completing Harry Maguire transfer deal (Metro)
Harry Maguire is set to become Manchester United’s third signing of the summer, with a deal for the Leicester star reportedly in the ‘final stages’. Maguire has been Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s number one defensive target since the the start of the summer and United executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward has been in discussions over an £80million move for the 26-year-old. This would make Maguire the most expensive defender of all time, exceeding the world-record £75m fee Liverpool paid for Virgil van Dijk back in January 2018. Read more
‘Never heard him say he wanted PSG exit’ —Verratti on Neymar (Punch)
Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Marco Verratti said on Monday that Neymar had never told him he wanted to leave the club. Barcelona vice-president Jordi Cardoner said in late-June Brazil forward would like to return to the Camp Nou. “I have never heard him say he wanted to leave,” Verratti told French broadcaster RMC. Read more
Arsenal set price for Shkodran Mustafi as Monaco make transfer enquiry (Metro)
Arsenal have set their asking price for Shkodran Mustafi after Monaco registered an interest in signing the defender. Mustafi arrived in north London with a promising reputation after completing a £35million move from Valencia to Arsenal back in 2016, but the 27-year-old centre-back has struggled to win over the club’s fan base after a series of high-profile mistakes. Read more
FC Andorra: Gerard Pique’s team pay £411,000 for promotion to Spanish third tier (BBC)
FC Andorra – owned by Barcelona defender Gerard Pique – have paid 452,022 euros (£411,000) to fill a vacated slot in Spain’s third tier. The club, bought by Pique’s Kosmos group in December, earned promotion to the fourth tier last season but have now replaced Reus, who were relegated as a result of financial problems. Zamora, Jaen, Intercity and Linares were also keen on replacing Reus. Read more
Lazio president gives Manchester United hope of signing Sergej Milinkovic-Savic (Metro)
Lazio president Claudi Lotito has confirmed that the club are open to selling Sergej Milinkovic-Savic this summer amid speculation linking the midfielder with Manchester United. Paul Pogba’s future remains in serious doubt and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has identified Milinkovic-Savic, 24, as his number one target to replace the Frenchman should he join Real Madrid. Reports in Italy claim that Milinkovic-Savic is on the cusp of a move to Old Trafford after his agent, Mateja Kezman, flew to England last Friday to get a deal over the line with the Red Devils. Read more
We have to prepare for life without Messi —Barca president (Punch)
FC Barcelona President Josep Maria Bartomeu accepts that the club has to do what some may consider virtually unthinkable – prepare for life without Messi. Messi has led the Barcelona side almost since making his first-team debut as a 17-year-old and although there is no talk of him retiring in the near future, the fact is that he is now 32-years old and can’t go on forever. “We think it is our obligation to work on the post-Messi era,” admitted Bartomeu in an interview in Spain. Read more
Tennis: Sharapova, Venus get wildcards for WTA Cincinnati event (Punch)
Former world number ones Maria Sharapova and Venus Williams were given wildcard entries into next month’s WTA Cincinnati tournament, a key tune-up event for the US Open. Each will compete in the main draw for the August 12-18 hardcourt event. Sharapova is one of only six women to have completed a career Grand Slam. The 32-year-old Russian owns 36 WTA titles, including five Grand Slam crowns, and is ranked 81st in the world. Her most recent Grand Slam title came at the 2014 French Open. Read more