Commuters groan, businesses shut as Sango-Ota road collapses (Punch)
The deplorable condition of the Sango-Ota end of the Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway, Ogun State, has continued to compound the woes of residents and business owners in the area.
Our correspondent, who visited the area on Thursday, observed that the road had collapsed.
Motorists and commuters had a hectic time plying the route.
The almost three-kilometre stretch of Joju, immediately after the Sango-Ota Bridge inward Ifo, was abandoned.
The road was dotted with large potholes lodged with water. Read more
How I graduated with first class despite writing SSCE twice, JAMB thrice (DailyTrust)
Grace Yusufu Philibus’ journey to bagging a First Class in Accounting is riddled with obstacles which include having the lowest grade during her early junior secondary school, writing the Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination twice, and sitting for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination thrice. Even when she thought her First Class was sealed due to her exceptional academic performance during her first year at the Federal University Wukari, Taraba State, she failed one of her courses. The incident almost crashed her dream of earning the highest grade but her faith in God and belief in prayers salvaged her dream.
“I took it upon myself to pray. Many people may not believe in prayers but I do. There is God and it is God that has done it for me. I was so confident that I was a first-class student when I started as an undergraduate but the carryover almost pushed me off. I almost lost the dream of a First Class or a good grade but I always rebuked that spirit and focused on being positive.”
Though the carryover was the latest hurdle she surmounted before graduating in flying colours, she was on the verge of being withdrawn from school while in junior secondary school by her parents due to poor grades. Read more
What I told Tinubu when he visited me – Obasanjo (Vanguard)
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo shared one of the jokes he made with the Presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, when he visited him in his Abeokuta residence on Wednesday.
It would be recalled that Tinubu, on Wednesday visited the ex-president at his Penthouse, located within the premises of the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library, One Mosan, Abeokuta.
Tinubu was accompanied by two former governors of the state, Chief Olusegun Osoba and Otunba Gbenga Daniel, billionaire businessman, Femi Otedola, and former interim national chairman of APC, Chief Bisi Akande, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, among others. Read more
ASUU members won’t be paid for strike period —FG (Tribune)
The Federal Government on Thursday insisted that it will not accede to the demand by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) for their members to be paid the backlog of salaries withheld over the ongoing strike, saying it is meant to be the penalty for their needless action.
The Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, stated this while appearing on the ministerial media briefing organised by the Presidential Communications Team at the Presidential Villa, Abuja on Thursday, insisting that not paying the backlog of salary will deter others who may contemplate strike in future.
He stated that government turned down ASUU’s demand to be paid for the five months that have been on strike because it believes that they will now think twice before taking such step.
He said the strike by the university-based unions came despite the N6 trillion expended on education on capital and recurrent expenditures by the present administration directly as well as spending by agencies such as Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TEFFUND) and Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) which expended N2.6 trillion and N553 billion respectively. Read more
Insecurity: Nigeria loses trillions (Sun)
In 2022, Nigeria has lost trillions of naira to the spiralling insecurity ravaging the country, according to officials of Nigeria Employers Consultative Association (NECA), Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), and the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA).
Findings by Saturday Sun show that the frightening level of insecurity has put the country’s economy into a tailspin. The effect is such that right now it is headed into total collapse if nothing is urgently done to stem the rising tide of terrorism, banditry, kidnapping and ritualism ravaging the landscape, from North to South.
Indeed, insecurity has affected virtually every sector – agriculture, education, transportation, mining and manufacturing. Some multinational companies, it was gathered, are currently planning to exit from Nigeria to safer African nations. It is alleged that their workers, especially expatriates, are now being targeted by kidnappers.
In addition, terrorists have killed many farmers, ravaged many farms and forced many in agrarian communities to seek refuge in overcrowded Internally Displaced Persons’ (IDP) camps. They have also planted improvised explosives device (IEDs) on lands meant for crops and thereby worsening the food crisis, the newspaper was told. Read more
9.7m workers join contributory pension scheme since inception – PenCom ( Leadership)
No fewer than 9.7million workers from the private and public sectors have joined the new pension scheme known as the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) as at the end of June 2021.
This is the total number of workers whose employers have so far registered under the scheme and have their respective Retirement Savings Account(RSA) since the inception of CPS in 2004 till June, 2022.
Similarly, the pension fund assets have risen to 14.27trillion as at the end of June 2022 from a N2 trillion deficit in 2004.
Speaking at the ongoing 2022 Journalists workshop with a theme ‘Increasing Informal Sector Participation in the CPS: The Case For Micro Pension Plan,’ in Ikeja, Lagos, the director general, the National Pension Commission (PenCom), Mrs Aisha Dahir-Umar, said: “the value of pension fund assets under which I am pleased to inform you stood at 9,795,957million and N14.27 trillion, respectively, as at June 30, 2022.” Read more
Ex-Anambra PDP guber candidate defects to LP (Guardian)
Mr Valentine Ozigbo, the former Anambra Governorship Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has defected to the Labour Party (LP).
Ozigbo said in a statement in Awka.
“There comes a defining moment in the life of any country when all people of good conscience must stand up to be counted.
“Those times offer no middle ground; you are either on the dark side or on the side of the light
“For Nigeria, 2023 is such a moment, Nigerians will be divided into two classes – those who will work to entrench the forces that have destroyed Nigeria or those warriors of the light who will work to bring justice, equity, and peace to our beloved country,” he said. Read more
Oronsaye’s report review almost completed, says Buhari (Punch)
The President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), on Friday, revealed that he has directed that the Orosanye White Paper Report be subjected to immediate review for the Federal Government to implement its general recommendation.
Buhari who revealed that the review is about to be completed said its implementation would bring some fundamental changes to the structure of the Civil Service.
According to a statement signed by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, Buhari said this when he received the Central Working Committee of the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria at the State House, Abuja.
The statement is titled ‘Oronsaye report will lead to fundamental changes in our civil service, president Buhari assures.’ Read more
Shettima’s nomination as Tinubu’s running mate, right choice – Group (Leadership)
The Tinubu Mandate Group has described the choice of Sen. Kashim Shettima as the running mate to APC presidential candidate, Sen Bola Tinubu, as right choice for the party.
Pastor Femi Bakare, the Chairman of the group in Ondo and Ekiti states, stated this while addressing members of the group on Thursday in Akure.
Bakare explained that Shettima’s choice was based on competence and not out of any primordial sentiment.
He recalled that Sen. Shettima had demonstrated enough capacity as governor of Borno and as someone Tinubu could trust, being a long time political ally. Read more
“Keeping Up Appearances” star Josephine Tewson dies aged 91 (Metro)
Actress Josephine Tewson, best known for her roles in much loved television shows including Keeping Up Appearances and Last of the Summer Wine, has died at the age of 91.
Her agent confirmed the news on Friday in a statement.
‘It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Josephine Tewson,’ it read.
‘Josephine passed away peacefully last night at Denville Hall at the Age of 91.’ Read more
Did power couple Zendaya and Tom Holland break up in 2022? (HITC)
Ever since the Marvel stars publicly confirmed their love for each other, fans have been deeply invested in updates about their relationship.
From numerous engagement rumors to pregnancy speculation, Tom and Zendaya have found themselves under the spotlight on many occasions.
Some fans have been concerned this week after false reports about the pair appeared on a popular social media app.
Zendaya and Tom haven’t broken up and the actors are very much together and going strong in 2022. Read more
Demi Lovato ‘grateful’ to turn 30 (ABC)
Demi Lovato spent the last day of their 20s on Friday performing as part of the “Good Morning America” Summer Concert Series
When asked what it felt like to be celebrating their 30th birthday, Lovato told “GMA” the feeling was “incredible.”
“I’m grateful to be turning 30,” the “Cool for the Summer” singer said. “It’s a milestone, and I feel like I’m more of myself, so I’m welcoming it.” Read more
Quavo explains why Takeoff was left out of Migos’ hit song ‘Bad and Boujee’ (NME)
The rappers — who form two-thirds of the Migos trio alongside Offset — discussed the 2016 song in a teaser clip for the music podcast Rap Radar. During the snippet of the interview published Wednesday (August 17), podcast host Elliot Wilson questions why Takeoff wasn’t included on the track, which was the lead single of Migos’ sophomore album, ‘Culture’.
“I think it was just timing,” Migos explained. “We were just trying to get something out. We was actually pissed off because we had no music out”.
After airing frustrations about the delayed release of ‘Bad & Boujee’, Migos revealed that the rap trio was under a serious time crunch when producing the track, and “ended up leaking ‘Bad & Boujee’ on SoundCloud first.”
Further discussing the song’s origins, Quavo revealed that even he wasn’t supposed to appear on ‘Bad & Boujee’, but later “rushed” a verse alongside Offset and Lil Uzi Vert, who featured on the track’s final verse. “Shit, I wasn’t even finna be on it,” Quavo said. Read more
The twist no one saw coming for Bed Bath & Beyond (CNN)
Here’s the deal: Bed Bath & Beyond’s business has been circling the drain for a while, but the stock got a boost this spring when a prominent young investor took a 10% stake, aiming to push for changes that would modernise the company.
That investor was Ryan Cohen, the co-founder of Chewy.com. If the name rings a bell it’s probably because Cohen’s appointment in January 2021 to the board of GameStop helped spark a 1,600% rally in GME, turning the screws on short sellers and ushering in a new era for internet-based retail investors. Cohen is now the chairman of GameStop, and something of a Millennial Warren Buffett for non-professional traders on Reddit and other social media.
In early March, when Cohen announced his stake in Bed Bath & Beyond, the Reddit crowd was fired up.
Fast forward to this week…
Bed Bath & Beyond shares were soaring. Then came the twist no one saw coming.
On Wednesday, Cohen filed paperwork with the SEC saying he intends to sell the vast majority of his Bed Bath & Beyond stake, just five months after acquiring it.
The news sent Bed Bath & Beyond shares tumbling about 20%. Even more perplexing than the filing itself was Cohen’s silence on the matter. Read more
Vanuatu’s president dissolves parliament to avoid ousting of prime minister (Guardian)
Vanuatu’s president dissolved its parliament on Thursday, the state broadcaster VBTC reported, after an attempt by some politicians to oust the prime minister.
The PM, Bob Loughman, had been expected to face a no-confidence motion when parliament next sat after a group of lawmakers in his party said they had sided with the opposition in a bid to remove him.
Vanuatu’s president, Nikenike Vurobaravu, signed a notice dissolving parliament on Thursday to take effect the same day, a copy of the notice showed.
Vanuatu was not due to go to the polls until 2024.
Britney Spears and Elton John’s ‘leaked’ track “Hold Me Closer” blows fans away (HITC)
Fans of the two musicians have been anticipating their new duet for a while now. But, on the night of Thursday, a snippet of the song was reportedly shared across social media.
While some fans went ahead and heard the ‘leaked’ audio, others were quick to blast those who were sharing it all over the internet.
Until recently, very little was known about the song besides the single artwork Elton posted online. But, fans were excited to hear Britney’s first new music in six years.
However, a ‘leaked’ audio reportedly featuring Britney’s vocals started making rounds on Twitter yesterday. The Sun reports that the 41-year-old songstress is heard singing “hold me closer tiny dancer,” in her famous high-pitched tone.
Presidential reception for Team Nigeria holds September 15 (Guardian)
The Federal Government will host members of Team Nigeria’s contingent to the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham on September 15, the Ministry of sports has disclosed.
A statement by the ministry’s Director, Press and Public Relations, Manga Mohammed, said Sports Minister, Sunday Dare, said, yesterday, that the Presidential reception “is in recognition of the historic performance of the team, which is the best ever since 1950 (72 years ago) when Nigeria first participated at the Games, which led to President Muhammadu Buhari’s approval that a special reception is held in their honour.”
Dare added that the “event is also part of the country’s way of appreciating the Team’s great act of sacrifice, patriotism and determination, demonstrated at the Games, which has brought Nigeria into positive global focus.” Read more
Carlo Ancelotti Reveals Real Madrid’s Plan To Cope Without Casemiro (Independent)
Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti has insisted the club are strong enough to cope without midfielder Casemiro, who is on the cusp of joining Manchester United.
The Brazilian is keen to test himself in the Premier League after winning everything there is to win during his time with Real, and personal terms have been agreed with United over a deal which could be worth €70m.
Reports in Spain have linked Newcastle’s Bruno Guimaraes to Real as a possible replacement for Casemiro – something manager Eddie Howe is prepared to fight against – but Ancelotti has stressed that Real already have ‘the resources’ to replace the 30-year-old.
“We have spare parts that can play there,” Ancelotti said. “[Aurelien] Tchouameni has played in that position. He is one of the best midfielders on the market. [Toni] Kroos can also play here, like in my second year here.
“Replacing Casemiro with his characteristics is not easy but there are others with different characteristics. In my teams, [Andrea] Pirlo played there, for example. “Read more
V’ball: Nigeria, Libya clash in African tourney quarter finals (Punch)
Nigeria play Libya in the quarter-finals of the ongoing 2022 African U-21 Men’s Nations Volleyball Championship in Tunisia on Friday (today), despite losing to the hosts in their final group game on Wednesday.
Having gotten the better of Morocco and Gambia in their first two games of the tournament, coach Sani Mohammed’s side suffered their first defeat to hosts Tunisia, who beat Nigeria 3-0 (25-21, 25-18, 25-23) in front of their home fans, winning 32 points from service and 43 points from receives, while Nigeria managed 20 points from service and 42 points from receives.
Tunisia had four aces, nine maximum points in a row, 10 service errors and used two timeouts, while Nigeria had one ace, four maximum points in a row, nine service errors and used five timeouts.
The result means Nigeria finished second in their group, two points behind Tunisia.
Mohammed said the technical crew had worked on the player’s mistakes against the Tunisians and is hoping to steer the side to the competition’s semis.
“The coaching crew has studied the match against Tunisia and all the lapses noticed will be worked on. If you look critically at the minor scores, Nigeria were leading before Tunisia came from behind to win the first and third set,” Mohammed said.
“Our match against Libya will be taken with a high level of seriousness because we do not want to let the nation down. Read more
Will Mbappe and Neymar flourish together this season for PSG? (Guardian)
Kylian Mbappe will be the focus of attention as Paris Saint-Germain aim to continue their perfect start to the season in Sunday’s trip to Lille in Ligue 1.
Mbappe’s every gesture will be scrutinised and every move analysed after the World Cup winner’s attitude created headlines for the wrong reasons in his first appearance of the season last weekend.
After missing the opening two games, one in the league, due to suspension and then injury, the France striker returned and scored in a 5-2 win over Montpellier.
Yet he also had a penalty saved and then appeared to try, unsuccessfully, to persuade Neymar to give him the ball when PSG were awarded another spot-kick.
In what was his first competitive game since the confirmation after last season that he was staying in Paris rather than joining Real Madrid, Mbappe cut a frustrated, unhappy and even isolated figure.That has raised doubts in France that Mbappe, Neymar and Lionel Messi can flourish together. Read more
Smith, error-prone Seahawks struggle in 27-11 loss to Bears (APNews)
Smith and the Seahawks were overwhelmed in a 27-11 loss to the Chicago Bears on Thursday night in the second preseason game for both teams, which was mostly a dud from Seattle’s standpoint.
“He did OK,” Seattle coach Pete Carroll said of Smith. “We needed to come through. We needed to help him a little bit. We needed to make the plays around him, too.”
Second-year Bears quarterback Justin Fields made a brief appearance and led a field-goal drive. Backup Trevor Siemian threw a touchdown pass, and Elijah Hicks recovered a muffed punt for a Chicago TD.
“I thought operation was good, his preparation was great. He handled the offense the way we wanted him to,” first-year Chicago coach Matt Eberflus said of Fields. “Had a nice drive and scored the field goal. So I think it’s progress.” The Seahawks had planned to start Lock but turned to Smith when Lock tested positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday. That meant another opportunity for Smith, who started last weekend at Pittsburgh, but his uninspired performance suggests Lock still has a chance to win the job. Read more
Despite financial woes, Rutgers football spent over $450,000 on DoorDash orders in 14 months (USAToday)
For more than a year, Rutgers University football players enjoyed a pricey perk that few other students had access to — free DoorDash food deliveries from restaurants, convenience stores and pharmacies, paid for by the university, and ultimately by taxpayers and students.
And the costs piled up.
Football players ordered more than $450,000 through DoorDash from May 2021 through June of this year, according to a review of invoices and other documents obtained by NorthJersey.com.
Rutgers documents state the DoorDash service was intended to provide meals to football players to “sometimes replace” their “in-house catered to-go meals.”
But a NorthJersey.com review of 14 months of invoices — nine that listed individual orders by players — and other records related to the football team’s DoorDash usage found that:
Nigeria handed easy U-23 AFCON draws (Punch)
The draw for the 2023 U-23 Africa Cup of Nations took place at the headquarters of the Confederation of African Football in Cairo on Thursday with Nigeria being offered an easy passage en route to qualifying for the tournament.
The country’s U-23 team have been drawn to play in the second round of the qualifiers where they face the winners of the first round fixture between Tanzania and South Sudan.
The competition which will be hosted by Morocco has been scheduled to hold in June 2023.
However, the first round of the qualifiers, a home and away fixture, will take place from September 19 to 27, while the second round games have been scheduled for October 21 to 30. Read more