‘Coup’, not election ongoing in Osun – Adeleke (Punch)
The Governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in Osun State, SenatorAdemola Adeleke, has described the ongoing rerun election in seven units in the state as a ‘coup ‘. Adeleke, who spoke with our correspondent on the telephone, said that supporters of the PDP were being denied access to ballot papers in the governorship rerun election. Read more
Striking workers paralyse activities at federal secretariat (Punch)
Striking workers on Thursday paralysed activities in all the offices at the Federal Secretariat, Abuja. Our correspondent who observed activities at the secretariat located in the Three Arms Zone reported that most workers did not report for work. A few of the workers who reported for work were however seen sitting idly at the gates of the complexes in the secretariat. Security was also beefed up at the gates to forestall breakdown of law and order. Read more
Lagos tops MasterCard’s African destination cities’ index (Punch)
Lagos State has topped MasterCard’s 2018 global destination cities index for sub-Saharan Africa. MasterCard, in a statement on Wednesday, said its Global Destination Cities Index offered an important analysis of travel to and within cities, adding that this year’s top sub-Saharan African cities were Lagos, Dakar, Kampala, Nairobi and Accra. It stated that these cities underscored the importance of a strong local culture. Read more
Adamawa 2019: Aisha Buhari’s brother, Ribadu to reach consensus (DailyTrust)
The younger brother to Aisha Buhari, Mahmud Halilu who is contesting for governorship under the All Progressives Congress (APC) disclosed that he will reach a consensus with Nuhu Ribadu before Saturday’s elections. Speaking to journalists in Yola, Mahmud stressed the need for the two aspirants to form a formidable alliance to defeat the incumbent governor at the Saturday primaries. Read more
Nigeria’s telecoms sector loses $3b to call masking, refilling (Guardian)
Nigeria’s telecommunication sector is said to be losing $3 billion yearly to sharp practices. This was disclosed by the Executive Chairman of NCC, Prof. Umar Danbatta at the 85th edition of the Telecom Consumer Parliament (TCP) currently ongoing in Lagos. Dabatta lamented that the menace has become quite worrisome and is a challenge to not only the telecoms industry but also a security threat to the entire country. Some of the sharp practices mentioned include call masking, SIM boxing and call refilling. Read more
Why govt suspended Nigeria Air project — Lai Mohammed (Vanguard)
The Federal Government has said it suspended the establishment of a national carrier, Nigeria Air, because the core investors pulled out of the project in the last minute. Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, who disclosed this in an interview with newsmen at Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos, also said the decision became necessary because the Federal Government resolved not to finance the project alone, noting, however, that the project was still on course. Read more
Pro-Adeleke group accuse INEC, Police of conspiracy to favour APC (Guardian)
A campaign group of the candidate of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Ademola Adeleke has accused the Nigerian Police and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of conniving to favour the ruling party All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate Gboyega Oyetola to emerge winner of the Osun state governorship election. The election which was first held on Saturday 22nd September was declared inconclusive by INEC after votes in seven polling units in Ife-North, Ife-South and Osogbo were cancelled due to violence. Read more
Anambra govt reassures people affected by flood of quality healthcare (Tribune)
ANAMBRA State Commissioner for Health Dr Josephat Akabuike says the state government will ensure that all those affected by the flooding in the state get the best of medical services. Dr. Akabuike made this known when he led delegation officials of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, Federal Ministry of Health Abuja to some holding centres in the state. Read more
Ex-commissioner in Oyo State, Arulogun, dies at 84 (PMNews)
A three-time commissioner in Oyo State, Alhaji Adegboyega Arulogun, died at 84, on Thursday in Ibadan. The Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism, Mr Toye Arulogun, who is the son of the deceased, made this announcement in a statement he made available to newsmen in Ibadan on Thursday. The commissioner said that his father died at a private hospital in Ibadan during a brief illness at about 7.0 4 a.m. Read more
Benue frozen bank accounts : Court summons EFCC, two banks (Vanguard)
The Federal High Court sitting in Makurdi has summoned the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, and two commercial banks to appear before it over the recent alleged freezing of the state government accounts. The EFCC had on August, 7, 2018, allegedly ordered the freezing of Benue State Government’s accounts in UBA and Fidelity banks, an action that government claimed adversely affected the running of its activities. Read more
Juventus extend Serie A streak, Roma back winning (Guardian)
Paulo Dybala and Blaise Matuidi scored early as Juventus extended their perfect start to their Serie A title defence to six games on Wednesday with a 2-0 win over Bologna, as Roma ended their losing streak with a 4-0 success over promoted Frosinone. The reigning champions have a maximum 18 points, three ahead of Napoli who beat Parma 3-0, with the top two set to go head-to-head in Turin on Saturday. “We made some mistakes at the end of the match and we were sometimes vulnerable,” said Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri. Read more
Tiger ready for first-tee tension and big crowds at Ryder Cup (Guardian)
Tiger Woods expects some nervous excitement when he steps on the first tee for the trophy-holders United States against Europe in the Ryder Cup before 7,000 screaming spectators at Le Golf National. The 14-time major champion snapped a five-year win drought last weekend to cap a successful comeback season from spinal fusion surgery and will be the star attraction when the biennial team showdown tees off Friday morning. Read more
Euro 2024: Germany beats Turkey to host tournament (BBC)
Germany has beaten Turkey to host Euro 2024 after a vote by Uefa’s executive committee on Thursday. The two countries made final bid presentations before voting took place in Nyon, Switzerland. The decision means Germany will stage the European Championship for the first time as a unified country, with West Germany having hosted the 1988 tournament. Read more
Cristiano Ronaldo: Juventus forward will miss one match after Champions League red card (BBC)
Juventus forward Cristiano Ronaldo will be available to play former club Manchester United next month after Uefa ruled he must serve only a one-match ban for his Champions League red card. The Portugal captain, 33, was sent off during Juve’s 2-0 win over Valencia last week after appearing to pull defender Jeison Murillo’s hair. It was the first Champions League red card of Ronaldo’s career. Read more
Trump ‘went off’ on French president during face-to-face meeting (CNN)
US President Donald Trump was “ranting and venting on trade” to French President Emmanuel Macron during their bilateral meeting Monday evening, according to a senior diplomatic source. Trump lambasted the European Union for its trade policies, saying it was worse than China — a complaint that the US president made to his French counterpart in an April meeting at the White House. Read more
British opposition leader Corbyn to meet EU on Brexit (Guardian)
The leader of Britain’s main opposition Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn, will meet senior EU officials on Thursday after warning he may oppose any Brexit deal negotiated by the London government. Corbyn, who told his party conference Wednesday that a no-deal Brexit would be a “national disaster”, has nevertheless said his party will vote against any accord based on Prime Minister Theresa May’s plan. Read more