Controversy trails death of Lagos artiste on BRT lane (Punch)
Controversy has trailed the death of a singer, Richard Dayom, who was allegedly crushed to death by a police patrol van in the Ikorodu area of Lagos State.
It was gathered that Dayom was coming back from church on Sunday around 4pm when policemen from the Sagamu Road Division allegedly chased the motorcycle he boarded.
He was said to have fallen off the motorcycle along the Ogonlonto BRT lane and was allegedly crushed to death by a patrol van.
The deceased was a close friend of Timmy Sinclair (Trikytee), one of the housemates in the just concluded reality TV show, Big Brother Naija. Read more
Lagos refutes BudgIT report, says state is financially, economically stable (Guardian)
The Lagos State government, yesterday debunked a misrepresentation of its finances, saying the state is economically and financially solid, in reaction to a publication by BudgIT, titled ‘Ability of States to Meet Monthly Recurrent Expenditure and Loan Repayment Obligations, 2019’.
Describing the report as misinformation in a statement, Dr Rabiu Olowo, the Commissioner for Finance, said: “Lagos State continues to meet all its recurrent and loan service obligations and the information that was published is incorrect, inaccurate and a gross distortion of the actual facts. As indicated in Lagos State’s published Financial Statements, the information in the table published by BudgIT should have correctly indicated a surplus of N89 billion not a deficit of N39 billion. Read more
Lagos Assembly appoints Onafeko as Acting Clerk (Vanguard)
The Lagos State House of Assembly has appointed Mr Olalekan Onafeko as the Acting Clerk of the House.
The Speaker of the House, Mr Mudashiru Obasa, made this known before the commencement of the day’s plenary on Monday in Lagos.
Obasa confirmed Onafeko as the acting clerk after a voice vote by lawmakers present during the plenary.
The News Agency of Nigeria, (NAN) reports that before his appointment, Onafeko was the Head of Human Resources and Administration in the Assembly. Read more
Man jailed seven years for N30m fraud in Lagos (Punch)
Justice Josephine Oyefeso of the Lagos State High Court, Igbosere, on Monday sentenced a fraudster, Tunde Martins, to seven years’ imprisonment for N30m fraud.
The convict had obtained the said sum as a loan from Diamond Bank Plc with a forged certificate of occupancy and refused to pay back.
His journey to prison began after he was arraigned alongside his company, Centre Global Limited by the Lagos Zonal Office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission in 2018 on three counts bordering on obtaining by false pretences, forgery and use of false documents, to which he pleaded not guilty. Read more
BBC Africa Eye report on Abule-Ado explosion exposed NNPC’s negligence, says CAPPA (Guardian)
The Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA) has said that the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) Africa Eye investigation on the Abule-Ado explosion clearly aligned with its view that there was something suspiciously different about the incident.
CAPPA Executive Director, Akinbode Oluwafemi said: “The investigation also exposed the fact that the myriad of government agencies and security outfits that descended on the epicentre of the blast to investigate what happened only fed Nigerians lies.”
He said that efforts of the BBC Africa Eye team of journalists digging out the facts of the incident had further exposed the culpability of the NNPC in the myriad of pipeline explosions across the country. Read more
LASU begins Vice Chancellor selection process (Vanguard)
Lagos State University (LASU) has elected members of Senate/Governing Council Vice Chancellor Selection Committee to screen and select the institution’s next Vice Chancellor.
The elected members of the committee are; Professors Barakat Animashaun, Olatunde Owolabi and Babatunde Yusuf.
Vanguard can confirm that the University’s outgoing VC, Prof. Olanrewaju Fagbohun, SAN, is completing his term next January.
In a similar development, Eighteen professors are now in the race to become the next Vice Chancellor of the institution, checks by our correspondent have revealed. Read more
We’ve not been informed of tariff hike suspension – Discos (Punch)
Power distribution companies said on Monday that they had not received any directive from the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission on tariff suspension.
The Discos are confused about the decision of the Federal Government and labour unions as regards the reversal of the hike in electricity tariff, investigation has shown.
Senior officials of power distribution companies said on Monday that they were awaiting the NERC to come up with a new tariff plan to be implemented within the two weeks as agreed by the Federal Government and labour unions. Read more
FG unveils historical exhibition to celebrate nation’s independence (Guardian)
Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, has restated the role of arts in the promotion of national unity.
He stated this in Abuja, yesterday, at the opening ceremony of the Historical Exhibition, being organised to celebrate Nigeria’s 60th independence anniversary.
Mohammed stressed the importance of arts in promoting Nigeria’s togetherness, which he said, is inherited from major cultural streams and is reflected in the diversity of styles.
“Our artists are not mere imitators, rather, they work from intimate understanding, knowledge, and experience of local life, which they are part of. Only in this way can arts be meaningful and fulfill a need to identify and express ourselves as Nigerians, thus enhancing our attitudes which will help to strengthen our unity,” he said. Read more
Coronavirus in Kenya: Pubs to reopen but schools stay shut (BBC)
Pubs in Kenya will reopen on Tuesday, six months after they were shut to curb the spread of coronavirus.
Trading hours, however, have been restricted and bars will have to close by 22:00.
The announcement was made by President Uhuru Kenyatta as he addressed the nation on the government’s latest initiatives to tackle the pandemic.
But against expectation the president did not reopen schools, saying pupil safety had to be guaranteed.
Mr Kenyatta has extended a night-time curfew for a further 60 days, but said it would start two hours later – now lasting from 23:00 to 04:00. Read more
Lesbian lovers allegedly killed, dismembered man to steal inheritance (NYPost)
A pair of Portuguese lesbian lovers inspired by the Showtime serial killer TV series “Dexter” allegedly killed and hacked up a man, chopping off his fingers to access his bank account and steal a more than $77,000 inheritance.
Maria Malveiro, 19, and her girlfriend Mariana Fonseca, 23, a nurse, are accused of murdering Diogo Goncalves, a 21-year-old hotel worker, in Portugal earlier this year.
The grisly details about Goncalves’ killing emerged as prosecutors get ready to put Malveiro and Fonseca on trial. Read more
George Pell: Cardinal to return to Rome for first time since acquittal (BBC)
Cardinal George Pell will return to Rome this week for the first time since he was acquitted of child sexual abuse and released from prison in Australia.
The ex-Vatican treasurer, 79, was due to fly out of Sydney on Tuesday, Australian media reported.
He was freed in April after Australia’s top court overturned his conviction. He had served over a year in jail.
The cleric left the Vatican in 2017 to fight the charges in his home state of Victoria.
“He always intended to return to Rome,” his friend Katrina Lee, from the Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney, told Reuters news agency. Read more
Coronavirus: New global test will give results ‘in minutes’ (BBC)
A test that can diagnose Covid-19 in minutes will dramatically expand the capacity to detect cases in low- and middle-income countries, the World Health Organization (WHO) has said.
The $5 (£3.80) test could transform tracking of Covid-19 in less wealthy countries, which have shortages of healthcare workers and laboratories.
A deal with manufacturers will provide 120 million tests over six months.
The WHO’s head called it a major milestone.
Lengthy gaps between taking a test and receiving a result have hampered many countries’ attempts to control the spread of coronavirus. Read more
Cardi B files ‘WAP’ trademark for clothing, jewelry, bags and shoes (PageSix)
Get your boots and your coat from Cardi B’s upcoming “WAP” clothing line.
Following the smashing success of her explicit song with Megan Thee Stallion, Cardi B filed to trademark “WAP” for a wide range of fashion items last week, as first reported by TMZ.
The 27-year-old rapper is hoping to slap her viral single’s title on clothing, headwear, footwear, jewelry, backpacks, handbags, fanny packs and luggage, according to the handful of September 23 filings — suggesting that a full “WAP” apparel and accessories range could be coming.
Cardi also applied to trademark “WAP” for beverages including beer and liquor, energy drinks, fruit juices and sodas. Yum! Read more
Mariah Carey made secret indie rock album 25 years ago (Metro)
Mariah Carey revealed she made a secret indie rock album 25 years ago and it’s safe to say we’re intrigued. The Fantasy singer is a woman of many talents and apparently knows her way around an electric guitar and moody melody. Oh, and the recordings been publicly released this whole time and we never even knew. In her new memoir The Meaning Of Mariah, the icon went into detail about her secret album, released under the band Chick for their 1995 album Someone’s Ugly Daughter. Read more
Rihanna claps back at fan’s comment on her skincare routine (PageSix)
If you want to stand under Rihanna’s umbrella, you’d better be wearing SPF.
The 32-year-old superstar shared a sexy lingerie-clad selfie on Instagram Sunday to promote her new travel-size Fenty Skin Start’r Set ($40), captioning the photo, “Just protecting my melanin while they try to eradicate it! @fentyskin #FentySkinStartRs mini gang!”
One fan seemed puzzled by Rihanna’s freshly applied Hydra Vizor sunscreen ($35) and the timing of her post, commenting, “it’s winter now” — and the beauty mogul wasted no time in schooling them on the importance of year-round SPF usage.
“It’s the ignorance for me!” Rihanna responded. “You gon have wrinkles if you think spf is seasonal! But continue.” Read more
Watford to complete Troost-Ekong signing today (Punch)
Super Eagles defender, William Troost-Ekong, on Monday arrived England ahead of a potential move to Championship side Watford on Tuesday (today).
According to a report on Watford Observer, the Hornets have made a move for the Nigerian international.
Troost-Ekong was an unused substitute in Udinese’s 1-0 loss away at Verona in their Serie A opener on Sunday.
According to reports, the Eagles defender has said goodbye to his teammates and is set to complete a permanent move from the fellow Giampaolo Pozzo-owned club.
Watford manager, Vladimir Ivic, had previously described Troost-Ekong as a quality player and will be a good addition to the squad if he joined the Championship side as they hope to return to the top flight. Read more
Liverpool fight back to beat Arsenal and maintain perfect start (BBC)
Liverpool’s new £45m signing Diogo Jota grabbed a home debut goal as the champions demonstrated their determination to retain an iron grip on their Premier League crown by coming from behind to record an impressive victory against Arsenal at Anfield.
The Gunners, who had won their opening two league games, went ahead after 25 minutes when Alexandre Lacazette took advantage of Andrew Robertson’s error to bundle a close-range finish past Alisson but ended well beaten.
Liverpool, who maintained their 100% start to the season and moved second behind Leicester City, responded instantly as man-of-the-match Sadio Mane pounced two minutes later after Arsenal goalkeeper Bernd Leno could only push out Mohamed Salah’s shot. Read more
Hearn predicts Joshua will knock out Fury after ‘steamrolling’ Pulev (Guardian)
Anthony Joshua (right) lands a big right hand on Andy Ruiz Jr. during his rematch victory… late last year.
Eddie Hearn believes Anthony Joshua is primed to demolish Kubrat Pulev and Tyson Fury in his next two fights by knocking both of his rivals out, reports dailymail.co.uk.
Joshua, who currently holds the IBF, IBO, WBA, WBO heavyweight titles, is set to face Pulev in a mandatory defence of his belts later this year, with a fight on December 12 pencilled in.
And despite his return to the ring being delayed by months because of the COVID-19 pandemic, promoter Hearn insists his man is ready to establish himself as the division’s unified champion in style. Read more
French Open 2020: Rafael Nadal & Dominic Thiem through, Daniil Medvedev out (BBC)
Spain’s 12-time champion Rafael Nadal encountered few problems as he started the French Open with a three-set win over Belarusian Egor Gerasimov.
Nadal, 34, wrapped up a 6-4 6-4 6-2 victory in two hours five minutes against the world number 83, who was making his main-draw debut in Paris.
US Open champion Dominic Thiem also moved into the second round with a 6-4 6-3 6-3 win over Croatia’s Marin Cilic.
Russian fourth seed Daniil Medvedev is out after losing to Marton Fucsovics. Read more
Manchester United submit opening bid for Porto star Alex Telles (Metro)
Manchester United have placed a £12million bid for Porto defender Alex Telles. The 27-year-old is valued at £18m by the Portuguese club but he has less than 12 months to run on his contract and United hope to sign him for significantly less than Porto’s asking price. Telles is believed to have already agreed personal terms with United over a four-year deal at Old Trafford, where he’d earn a salary of around £70,000-a-week. After talks with the Brazilian’s representatives last week, the Guardian report that United have now firmed up their interest in the full-back by submitting a £12m bid for the defender. Read more
Doc Rivers: Head coach leaves LA Clippers (BBC)
Doc Rivers has left his position as Los Angeles Clippers coach, following their defeat in the NBA Western Conference semi-finals.
The Clippers blew a 3-1 lead in the seven-game series before being knocked out of the play-offs 4-3 by the Denver Nuggets on 16 September.
In a statement on Twitter, Rivers said he was “grateful” for his time in LA.
“Thank you Clipper nation for allowing me to be your coach and for all your support in helping make this a winning franchise,” Rivers wrote. Read more
Lightning defeat Stars to capture 2020 Stanley Cup (NYPost)
The oddest NHL season in history ended Monday with the Tampa Bay Lightning defeating the Dallas Stars, 2-0, to capture the Stanley Cup.
Brayden Point and Blake Coleman scored for the Lightning, who clinched the series in six games for the franchise’s second Stanley Cup and first since 2004.
Star defenseman Victor Hedman won the Conn Smythe trophy as playoff MVP. Hedman had 10 goals and 22 points in 25 games. Read more