Court reinstates EKSU lecturer sacked over alleged sex scandal (Punch)
The National Industrial Court of Nigeria has ordered the reinstatement of a lecturer of Ekiti State University, Ado Ekiti, Dr Ololade Aduwo, who was dismissed in December 2019 by the university authorities over an alleged sex scandal involving a female student, Rachel Olatosin.
This was contained in the judgement of the industrial court, Akure Division in the case with suit number NICN/AK/08/2020 filed by Aduwo against EKSU VC, EKSU Governing Council and the university over his dismissal from the employ of the institution for what he described as phantom sex allegation.
Justice Kiyersohok Damulak in the judgement delivered on February 8, 2023, declared that the dismissal of the claimant (Aduwo) from his appointment with the defendants (EKSU) by the letter of 5th December, 2019 is wrongful, null and void.” Read more
PDP, LP, others fault collation process, insists INEC must upload results (Guardian)
Opposition parties that participated in Saturday’s presidential elections have faulted the ongoing method of collation of the presidential elections employed by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The parties, including the main opposition, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Labour Party, Action Alliance (AA), New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), and African Democratic Congress (ADC) among others insisted that INEC must instruct the Collation Officers to upload the results from the polling units to the Commission’s server even before the manual collation takes place.
They alleged that the move by INEC to announce the results manually without the result copies from polling units uploaded online was an attempt to compromise the process. Read more
David Mark’s daughter, 5 other APC candidates win Rep seats in Benue (DailyTrust)
Daughter of the former Senate President David Mark, Mrs Blessing Onuh of the All Progressives Congress (APC), alongside five other candidates of the party have been elected into the House of Representatives.
Mark’s daughter, who is returning for a second term to represent Otukpo/Ohimini, polled 29,031 votes to defeat her closest opponent, Alex Ogbe of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) with 21,741 votes.
The returning officer for Otukpo/Ohimini at the Saturday National Assembly election, Professor Inner Matthias of Joseph Sarwaaun Tarka University in Makurdi, declared Blessing Onuh of APC winner on Monday afternoon. Read more
Sanwo-Olu calls for calm over outbreak of violence in parts of Lagos (Independent)
Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has called for calm over reports of a breakdown of law and order in some parts of Lagos on Monday morning.
Recall that the friction in some parts of the state came hours after the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Monday morning, announced the results of Saturday’s presidential elections in the state which showed that the candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi, defeated the All Progressives Congress (APC) Candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, in what has been described as an electoral upset in Lagos, seen as Tinubu’s stronghold.
Governor Sanwo-Olu’s statement, made public through the official Twitter handle of the Governor’s Senior Special Assistant (SSA) on New Media, Jubril A. Gawat also stated that “violence is not a part of our culture”. Read more
Thugs chase traders from Lagos markets after ‘‘shocking’’ election results (DailyTrust)
Armed thugs on Monday invaded some markets in Lagos, attacking traders in the process.
Markets allegedly invaded include Ladipo auto parts market, Balogun and Ebute-Ero on Lagos Island and Mainland.
Those affected alleged that some of the thugs broke into shops and made away with goods.
Some traders were said to have sustained injuries while trying to flee from the area. Read more
‘‘Okada Rider’’ wins Kaduna Reps seat for Labour Party (Tribune)
The Labour Party (LP) candidate, Mr Donatus Mathew, an okada rider, has been declared the winner of the Kaura federal constituency of Kaduna State.
The returning officer, Professor Elijah Ella, declared the result yesterday and said Mathew polled a total of 10,508 to defeat the incumbent member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Hon Gideon Lucas Gwani, who came second, with a total vote of 10, 297 votes.
Professor Elijah said the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate trailed with 9,919 votes, while New Nigerian People’s Party (NNPP) secured 5,354 votes to come third and fourth, respectively. Read more
Police arrest 4 officers over electoral malpractices in Rivers (Leadership)
The Rivers State Police Command has arrested four operatives, including an officer and three inspectors for alleged involvement in electoral malpractice in the state.
A viral video shows the policemen operating in a Hilux vehicle with an inscription ‘RRT 050’, hijacking ballot materials in an undisclosed location in the state.
Police public relations officer (PPRO) in the state, Grace Iringe-Koko, in a statement made available to newsmen in Port Harcourt on Monday, said the vehicle had also been impounded for thorough investigation. Read more
Adele engaged to Rich Paul as singer shows off dazzling diamond ring at Vegas show (Mirror)
Adele is reportedly engaged to boyfriend Rich Paul.
The Hello hit-maker, 34, and her sports agent beau, 41, are said to be planning a summer wedding this year after Rich popped the all-important question.
Their reported engagement comes two years after they pair first went public with their relationship. Read more
Michael B Jordan confronts high school classmate over teasing remarks on red carpet (Metro)
Michael B Jordan wasn’t best pleased when he came face-to-face on the red carpet with a blast from his school days past.
Morning Hustle host Lore’l managed to stop the 36-year-old on the red carpet at a Creed III premiere, a film which the actor is starring in alongside Jonathan Majors, having acted in the franchise for eight years.
Having revealed during an episode of her podcast, Undressing Room, that she knew the acting megastar from school, Lore’l thought that it would be a good idea to address the elephant in the room on the red carpet, because why not. Read more
Unexplained explosions around Russian-occupied Mariupol since Tuesday (JPost)
For a week pro-Russian officials have been reporting unexplained explosions of military assets in Russian-occupied Mariupol, the UK Defense Ministry said in a Monday morning intelligence briefing.
UK intelligence has counted at least 14 explosion reports since Tuesday around Mariupol, which it says is almost 80 kilometers away from the front lines.
Sites caught in explosions include an ammo cache at an airport, two fuel deports, and a makeshift military base. Read more
UB40 visit ‘‘phenomenal’’ school where their music is on the curriculum (BelfastTelegraph)
Hit-makers UB40 have been visiting a school to hear how the band’s repertoire is now part of the curriculum for its music-loving pupils.
About 400 pupils from St Edward’s Catholic Primary School in Selly Park, Birmingham, took part in a special assembly, all about the band on Monday.
The reggae pop group’s discography has been taught as part of the pupils’ oracy education – teaching youngsters how to express themselves grammatically and with fluency – and involved Year One to Year Six performing renditions of some of the group’s most commercially successful hits. Read more
Pokémon confirms Pikachu’s future in the series without Ash (DigitalSpy)
The new Pokémon series will welcome another Pikachu, following the announcement that Ash Ketchum and his loyal companion would no longer appear in the show.
The upcoming anime will see a different dynamic duo take centre stage. This happens after OG Pokémon star Ash (or Satoshi, as he’s known in Japan) finally became the world’s greatest trainer, winning the Pokémon World Coronation Series in Pokémon Ultimate Journeys last year.
In the new anime, Liko and Roy, together with Pokémon Quaxly, Sprigatito, and Fuecoco from the latest Scarlet and Violet games, will replace Ash and Pikachu as the protagonists. Read more
SAG Awards top 1.1m views on Netflix’s YouTube channel (Variety)
Netflix’s presentation of the 29th Screen Actors Guild Awards show garnered more than 1.1 million views on Sunday for the livestream on YouTube.
The total comprises views tallied by YouTube for the 2023 SAG Awards’ main feed (865,000 views) and the audio descriptive feed (248,000 views) within 10 hours of the broadcast’s conclusion. The SAG Awards ceremony livestream — which ran 2 hours and 14 minutes and carried no ads — is available to rewatch on Netflix’s YouTube channel.
The viewing total does not include breakout clips that Netflix posted during the awards show, including the acceptance speeches by the cast members of the night’s big winner, Everything Everywhere All at Once. For example, Michelle Yeoh’s speech after her historic win for best performance by a female actor in a leading role (becoming the first Asian woman to win a leading film acting award) has 58,000 views so far, and Ke Huy Quan’s speech for male actor in a supporting role (the first Asian male to win a film acting trophy at the SAG Awards) has 55,000. Read more
Egypt’s foreign minister meets Assad in first Syria visit since war (MEE)
Egypt’s foreign minister, Sameh Shoukry, met Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Syria on Monday, in the latest sign of warming relations between Damascus and Arab states following years of isolation.
The visit comes after a senior Arab delegation convened in Syria on Sunday for talks with Assad on bringing the country back into the regional fold.
Diplomatic overtures have been forthcoming in the aftermath of two devastating earthquakes that hit Syria and neighbouring Turkey earlier this month, with Assad benefitting from an outpouring of Arab support. Read more
Ezeh leads D’Tigers’ new group making case for local players (Guardian)
When Nigeria named a squad mainly made up of home-based players for the final window of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 African Qualifiers, it seemed like they had given up on the idea of qualifying for the global showpiece, writes fiba.basketball.com.
But a game into these qualifiers, this young group of D’Tigers’ players have dispelled the perception that they are merely in Angola to get a feel of international basketball.
Instead, the Nigerians turned heads in Group E on the opening day by beating a Cote d’Ivoire side carrying experienced players like Solo Diabate, Vafessa Fofana and Charles Abouo. Read more
Confed Cup: 10-man Rivers United beat Congo’s Motema Pembe (Punch)
Nigeria Professional Football League champions, Rivers United, produced a gutsy away performance in their third group stage game of this year’s CAF Confederation Cup, beating Congolese side, Motema Pembe 1-0 in Angola, The PUNCH reports.
Paul Acquah scored a superb winner for the Stanley Eguma side in the 53rd minute of the game after they had been reduced to 10 men before the end of the first half.
The Ghanaian winger found the net from a rebound after his initial header off a Denis Ndasi’s flick was blocked by the keeper. Read more
Jurgen Klinsmann back in international soccer management as the new South Korea boss (IrishIndependent)
Jurgen Klinsmann has been named head coach of South Korea, the country’s football association said on Monday.
Former Germany coach Klinsmann replaced Paulo Bento, who stepped down following South Korea’s defeat by Brazil in the World Cup last 16 in December.
The Korea Football Association (KFA) said Klinsmann had signed a contract until the 2026 World Cup, which will be held in the United States, Canada and Mexico. Read more
Man United’s Marcus Rashford credited with League Cup final goal against Newcastle (ESPN)
Manchester United’s second goal in Sunday’s 2-0 Carabao Cup final win over Newcastle United has been credited to Marcus Rashford after originally being given as an own goal, organisers said on Monday.
Six minutes after Casemiro had opened the scoring, Rashford was through on goal again and his shot took a deflection off Sven Botman before looping over the goalkeeper, going down as an own goal.
“Manchester United’s second goal in the Carabao Cup Final officially went to Marcus Rashford! It means he finishes the competition as top scorer with six goals, having scored in every round,” organisers said in a statement. Read more
Damian Lillard nets career-high 71 points, leads Blazers past Rockets (UPI)
Damian Lillard awed fans with a career-high 71 points to lead the Portland Trail Blazers to a victory over the Houston Rockets. Lillard also became the first NBA player to score 70 points in under 40 minutes.
The All-NBA guard made 13 3-pointers, 14 free throws and 22 shots overall in 39 minutes of the 131-114 triumph Sunday at Moda Center in Portland, Ore.
“I wasn’t like ‘I’m going to get 70 tonight,'” Lillard told reporters. “I was playing to keep the lead, instead of playing to score a bunch of points.” Read more
LIV Golf: Charles Howell III wins 1st title and $4.25m at season-opening Mayakoba event (BBC)
Charles Howell III claimed his first LIV Golf title at the season-opening event with a stunning eight-under-par 63 in the final round in Mexico.
The American won $4m (£3.33m), plus a quarter of the $1m prize for winning the team event with Crushers GC.
Howell, 43, finished on 16 under, four shots clear of runner-up Peter Uihlein with Sunday’s bogey-free final round. Read more