DPR seals off 4 illegal gas plants in Lagos (Guardian)
The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) on Wednesday sealed off four Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) plants, over non-compliance and illegal operations in Lagos.
Officers of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), which collaborated with the DPR in the exercise, also arrested three employees of the sealed LPG — also known as cooking gas — plants.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the gas stations sealed off include Geogas Gas Filling Plant, Oduduwa Road, Oworonsoki and Classic Gas, MKO Abiola Market, Agege, Lagos. Read more
Missing child: Mob kills policeman, sets church ablaze in Ondo (Punch)
A policeman was on Wednesday killed by a mob at the Sotitobire Praising Chapel, Oshinle Quarters, Akure, the Ondo State capital.
The angry youths also set the church ablaze following the protest over a missing one-year-old boy during church service in November.
The little boy, Gold Kolawole was kidnapped in the church and his whereabouts were unknown till the present moment and it was alleged that the police were not conducting a proper investigation on the matter. Read more
Makinde’s Victory: Group Commends Supreme Court (Independent)
Front line sociopolitical group, the Oyo State Development Advocacy Group (OSDAG), has commended the Supreme Court judgment upholding the election of Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State.
While congratulating Makinde, the group, had in a statement issued by its spokesman, Michael Ogunsina, stated that Oyo people were lucky that they voted the right governor and stood by him, all through.
“Makinde led his closest rival, Bayo Adelabu, of All Progressives Congress (APC) with over 150,000 votes at the Match 9, governorship election in Oyo State, in an election the opposition disputed and headed to the tribunal, Appeal Court and finally the Supreme Court, where it has been affirmed that Makinde is the real owner of the mandate. Read more
Senators decry demise of Sen Uwajumogu (Nation)
Some senators on Wednesday described the death of Sen .Ben Uwajumogu (APC Imo) as a great loss to the Senate, given his steering contributions on the floor of the Senate.
Some senators told News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the demise of Uwajumogu which came so sudden was a surprise to them.
Sen Smart Adeyemi (APC Kogi) said Uwajumogu was somebody he was looking forward to work with given his open mindedness. Read more
Robbers kill Edo cab driver, throw body into river (Punch)
Members of a four-man robbery gang have been arrested for the murder of a cab driver, Oghogho Okunbor, whose corpse was thrown into the Ikpoba River in Benin City, Edo State.
The police gave the names of the suspects as Moses Osamudiamen, Chinedu Amah, Chinonso Ozuoro and Emmanuel Obikeze.
It was gathered that the gang committed the crime on November 24, 2019. Read more
Senate confirms Nami as FIRS chairman (Independent)
The Senate on Wednesday confirmed Muhammad Mamman Nami as Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS)
The confirmation followed a satisfactory report by the Senate Committee Chairman on Finance, Senator Olamilekan Solomon Adeola which was presented to the plenary.
Other nominees of President Buhari who were confirmed representing the various zones of the country are: Read more
Mercy Johnson expecting fourth child (Nation)
Nollywood super star Mercy Johnson Okojie is expecting her fourth child.
She revealed this on her Instagram account on Wednesday.
An elated Mercy shared a picture with her husband the Instagram page, revealing she’s expecting her fourth child.
She wrote: “We’re having a baby, I’ve always wanted 4 kids…. always. However, after 3 kids, I thought I had retired from the baby making business. So a while back, we found out we had a baby on the way. Read more
Nigerian students to pay €80 for Schengen visa (Independent)
As of February 2020, Nigerian citizens will need to pay a fee of €80 instead of €60 they currently do when applying for a Schengen visa from Nigeria.
Children too will have to pay €40 instead of €35, as it is currently.
Nigerians will be subject to several changes in terms of visa application procedures, rules and benefits, starting from Monday, February 2, 2020. Read more
Samsung chairman sentenced to 18 months in jail (Punch)
The chairman of Samsung Electronics, the world’s biggest smartphone and chip maker, has been jailed for sabotaging union activities, prompting a rare apology on Wednesday from the firm.
Chairman Lee Sang-hoon and executive vice president Kang Kyung-hoon were both sentenced to 18 months for leading a wide-ranging operation to deter staff at Samsung’s customer service unit from operating a union.
Samsung Electronics is the flagship subsidiary of the Samsung group, by far the biggest of the family-controlled conglomerates known as chaebols that have propelled South Korea’s rise to the world’s 11th-largest economy. Read more
Trump asks for prayers, bemoans fate ahead of impeachment (Nation)
U.S. President Donald Trump took to Twitter to ask his millions of followers to say a prayer, as the House of Representatives was readying to impeach a president for only the third time in the country’s history.
“Can you believe that I will be impeached today by the Radical Left, Do Nothing Democrats, AND I DID NOTHING WRONG! A terrible Thing. Read the Transcripts.
This should never happen to another President again. Say a PRAYER!” Trump posted. Read more
Meet this 118-goal star Man Utd wants to sign (Independent)
Back in October, The Express claimed that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was keen to sign two forwards in January as he aims to get Manchester United back on track.
United have struggled in their attack after they decided to let go of Romelu Lukaku and Alexis Sanchez in the summer. Failing to land a replacement has already cost United a lot. Marcus Rashford seems to be in form, whereas Anthony Martial has been inconsistent, Soccer Souls reports.
In order to make their attack stronger, United are planning to launch a shock raid for Napoli star Dries Mertens, according to The Express. The report also suggests that the center-forward has fallen out with the club’s chiefs and may leave for free at the end of the season. Read more
Wenger defends Ozil after Uighur comments cause storm in China (Punch)
Former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has defended Mesut Ozil after comments made by the Gunners midfielder condemning the treatment of Uighur Muslims led to a stinging backlash in China.
“Mesut Ozil has the freedom of speech like everybody else and he uses his notoriety to express his opinions which are not necessarily shared by everybody, but he has the right to do that,” Wenger told journalists in Doha on Wednesday.
“You are a human being, you have an opinion, and then when you play football you play football. You do your job first and you have to respect that.” Read more
Arteta plans complete overhaul at Arsenal (Nation)
Manchester City assistant boss Mikel Arteta, who has been in contact with the Arsenal board since Sunday is planning a complete overhaul in the troubled team.
Arteta has reportedly already identified transfer targets for Arsenal – and has discussed this with the board ahead of getting the manager’s job.
Freddie Ljungberg has been in temporary charge of the Gunners since Unai Emery was sacked, but results have been poor under the Swede. Read more
Nigerian football comatose under NFF – Minister (Independent)
The Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Mr. Sunday Dare on Tuesday hit hard at the board of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) as they held their Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Benin City, Edo State, saying football in Nigeria has become comatose under their watch.
Mr. Dare, who spoke through the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Youth and Sports Development, Mr. Olusade Adesola, warned that the world has taken note of the decline of the sport in Nigeria and that tough questions that require urgent answers are being asked.
He noted that the problems that the board should have solved keep festering with previous Annual General Meetings have been too ordinary because of the false sense that the federation has achieved. Read more
Osimhen back to normal after health scare – Galtier (Punch)
Lille have confirmed that Victor Osimhen is back to normal after a health scare during Tuesday’s French League Cup game against AS Monaco.
The Nigeria international put the Great Danes ahead after 19 minutes, but was forced off after complaining of chest pain.
According to various reports in the French media, including sports.fr, the Super Eagles striker seemed to feel dizzy and complained of chest pain. Read more
32 teams qualify for Emeka Anyaoku Cup (Nation)
Thirty-two teams will battle for honours in the 13th edition of Emeka Anyaoku Under-16 Boys and Girls Interstate competition, according to the organisers, National Youth Soccer Association (NYSA).
Sixteen boys’ teams qualified from the zonal finals in the five geo-political zones in the country except south east due to insecurity, while 16 girls’ teams from Lagos State will also take part in the tournament.
The qualified teams will now participate in the national preliminaries slated for February 16 to March 20 in Lagos State. Read more
Barcelona, Real Madrid get set for politically charged Clasico (Punch)
Barcelona and Real Madrid will travel to the Clasico on Wednesday from the same hotel as part of a large-scale security operation aimed at reducing the impact of Catalan independence protests.
The fixture had to be postponed in October due to violent demonstrations and there are renewed fears of unrest breaking out around Camp Nou, where Barca and Madrid will tussle for the top spot in La Liga.
Around 3,000 security personnel will be deployed at the stadium and both teams have been instructed to gather at the Hotel Princesa Sofia at midday (1100 GMT) on Wednesday, eight hours before kick-off. Read more
Tottenham Hotspur eyeing this Leicester City star (Independent)
Leicester City right-back Ricardo Pereira has been linked with a move to Tottenham Hotspur.
Reports in the Belgian press linking Royal Antwerp defender Aurelio Buta say Brendan Rodgers’ side are monitoring the 22-year-old if Ricardo leaves the King Power Stadium, Leicester Mercury reports.
The report from Gazet van Antwerpen adds that Tottenham have already expressed an interest in City’s reigning player of the year and Buta is high on a list of possible replacements. Read more
Gawuna lauds YSFON for U-19 football camp (Nation)
President of Youth Sports Federation of Nigeria (YSFON), Dr. Yusuf Gawuna, has expressed satisfaction with the Federation’s on-going U-19 football camp presently holding at the Ahmadu Bello Stadium, Kaduna.
According to the Deputy Governor of Kano State, the technical committee of the Federation headed by Coach, Abdugafaru Agboola had done well in the programme expected to be rounded up today.
He, however, charged the Sports Ministry and Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to take more interest in the activities of the body as they are poised to develop sports at the grassroots. Read more