FG to close Third Mainland Bridge, Lagos-Ibadan Expressway after Christmas (Punch)
The Federal Controller of Works Lagos, Mr Olukayode Popoola on Tuesday announced a 72-hour total closure of the Third Mainland Bridge to cast concrete on the expansion joints.
Popoola told the News Agency of Nigeria in Lagos that the shutdown will take effect from midnight on Saturday to midnight on Tuesday.
He added that construction works had reached the stage for casting concrete on additional three expansion joints. Read more
COVID-19 Spike: Sanwo-Olu tasks CDAs on fight against virus in grassroots (Vanguard)
Lagos State Governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, on Tuesday, urged leaders of Community Development Associations, CDAs, and Community Development Committees, CDCs, on the need to prevent further spread of ravaging COVID-19 strain at the community level in the state.
Sanwo-Olu, therefore, appealed to residents to always ensure adequate compliance with all the COVID-19 protocols and guidelines as they hold public gatherings in their various community development areas this festive season
Governor, gave the charge while speaking at the Year 2020 Community Day Celebration, themed: “Promise Made, Promise Kept, More To Come,” organised by the Ministry of Local Government and Community Affairs. Read more
COVID-19: Failure to wear mask could land you in prison, Lagos warns residents (Punch)
The Lagos State Government has warned residents that failure to wear a mask in public could land them in prison.
The state government said this in a tweet on Tuesday.
According to the government, failure to wear a mask in public contravenes the Lagos State Infectious Diseases (Prevention) Regulations or Criminal Laws of Lagos State.
The tweet read, “Did you know? Failure to wear a face mask in public or breach of any COVID-19 regulations, you can be prosecuted under the Lagos State Infectious Diseases (Prevention) Regulations or Criminal Laws of Lagos State and upon conviction liable to imprisonment up to one year.” Read more
Lagos Assembly to bar residents from keeping lions, snakes as pets (Punch)
The Lagos State House of Assembly is deliberating on a bill to bar residents from owning wild animals like lions, snakes and others, The PUNCH has learnt.
The proposed law is known as “A Bill for Law to Regulate Ownership, Licensing, Care and Sale of Pets and Prohibit or Restrict Persons from Having Custody of Animals Dangerous to the Public and Where Permitted to License, Control and Regulate the Custody of Such Animals and for Other Connected Purposes’.
According to a document sighted by The PUNCH, the public hearing for the bill held last week on December 17, 2020, and it was chaired by Mr. Kehinde Joseph, who is the Chairman, House Committee on Agriculture. Read more
Auto crash kills three in Ibadan (Guardian)
An auto crash, which occurred around Amuludun on the Old Oyo-Ibadan road yesterday killed three persons and injured three others.
An eyewitness said a trailer coming from Ojoo had a failed brake and rammed into a Micra while trying to overtake in a slow-moving traffic along Funduck area.
The Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) in Oyo State, Mrs Uche Chukwurah, confirmed the incident. Chukwurah said the accident occurred around 12:15p.m. and the cause of accident was speed violation and loss of control from the truck driver. Read more
COVID-19: Buhari extends PTF mandate till March 2021 (Vanguard)
President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday extended the mandate of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 for a further period till the end of March 2021.
The President also said that Nigeria was in a perilous situation given the virulent nature of the second wave, adding that the situation demanded that the government must act decisively to protect the people.
The extension was in view of the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic especially the new surge in the number of cases and the bid for vaccines. Read more
We are getting closer to self-sufficiency in liquefied petroleum gas production – Buhari (Guardian)
President Muhammadu Buhari says Nigeria has moved a step closer to the nation’s dream of fully utilising its abundant gas potential.
The president said this on Tuesday at the Council Chamber of the Presidential Villa while inaugurating the Integrated Gas Handling Facility and LPG Processing and Dispensing Plants.
The plant was built and operated by the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company, an Upstream Subsidiary of NNPC in Oredo, Edo. Read more
Palace debunks Olu of Warri’s death rumour, says monarch indisposed, receiving treatment (Thisday)
Warri Kingdom in Delta State Tuesday acknowledged that the Olu of Warri, Ogiame Ikenwoli, was indisposed and receiving treatment in an undisclosed hospital.
The media had reported the news of the demise of the monarch on Monday.
He was said to have died from COVID-19 related illness after his health allegedly deteriorated on Sunday evening.
But a statement from the monarch’s palace, signed by Chief Clement Maleghemi, Director of Palace Administration, said the Olu was still receiving treatment at the moment. Read more
Pakistani rights activist Karima Baloch found dead in Toronto (BBC)
The body of Karima Baloch, a Pakistani human rights activist, has been found in Toronto, Canada, where she had been living for five years in exile.
Ms Baloch, 37, a campaigner from the restive region of Balochistan in western Pakistan, was a vocal critic of the Pakistani military and state.
Toronto police issued an appeal after she went missing on Sunday and later confirmed that her body had been found.
Police said there were “not believed to be any suspicious circumstances”. Read more
How technology can help save Christmas (Metro)
You’d have thought we’d all be pretty good at coping with restrictions on our daily lives by now. But there’s something about Christmas Day that makes it particularly tough to get through without friends, family or even a familiar face. While technology can never be a true substitute for human connection, there are several tools available to make the next few days less lonely than they would otherwise be. Read more
Afghanistan conflict: Kabul car bombing kills four doctors (BBC)
Four doctors working at a prison in the Afghan capital Kabul were among five people killed by a bomb attached to their car, police say.
Three of the dead were women. The fifth was their male colleague’s driver.
The doctors were travelling to Pul-e-charki prison where they worked when the “magnetic” bomb detonated. No group has said it carried out the bombing. Read more
Taylor Swift overwhelmed as she breaks Billboard record with double number one (Metro)
Taylor Swift was almost lost for words after finding out that she’s broken a new Billboard record thanks to her latest releases soaring to number one. The Blank Space singer has just topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart with her new single Willow, which has drawn 30 million US streams and sold 59,000 downloads in the week ending December 17. Not only that but Taylor, 31, has also topped the Billboard 200 chart with her surprise new album Evermore. Read more
Rio mayor Marcelo Crivella arrested over bribery claims (BBC)
Police in Rio de Janeiro have arrested the city’s mayor, Marcelo Crivella.
Mr Crivella, an evangelical pastor who was elected in 2016, was detained at his home at dawn as part of an investigation into an alleged bribery scheme at Rio’s city hall.
The 63-year-old conservative stood for re-election this year but lost to centre-right former mayor Eduardo Paes.
Mr Crivella said he was innocent and become the target of a “political persecution”. Read more
Sudanese demand ‘justice’ two years after protests erupted (Guardian)
Thousands of demonstrators marched through Sudanese towns on Saturday calling for change, two years since the start of a protest movement that led to the toppling of dictator Omar al-Bashir.
Black plumes of smoke billowed into the sky from burning tyres in the capital Khartoum’s southern Al-Sahafa district, with protesters marching to the gates of the presidential palace chanting “justice”.
Demonstrators — many of them young and frustrated by what they see as a lack of change amid a dire economic crisis — waved the national flag as they marched, or carried photographs of “martyrs” killed during past protests. Read more
Transfer: Man United make Alaba contact, Liverpool near Sanches deal (Punch)
Another day, another story about the future of versatile Bayern Munich defender David Alaba, 28, who this morning is linked with two Premier League clubs.
According to reports in the Daily Express, Manchester United have made formal contact with the Austria international’s agent over signing the player when his contract expires next summer.
Also, Manchester United are confident of completing the £37m signing of Amad Diallo from Atalanta next month, according to reports in The Times. Read more
FIFA lodges criminal complaint against former president Sepp Blatter (BBC)
FIFA has lodged a criminal complaint against former president Sepp Blatter over the finances of a museum in Zurich, Switzerland.
The complaint relates to the involvement of Blatter and other former officials in the Fifa museum project.
It is the latest allegation of financial impropriety against Blatter, who resigned from his post as president in 2015 amid a corruption scandal.
The 84-year-old has always denied any wrongdoing. Read more
Anthony Joshua drums support for aspiring boxers (Punch)
Britain’s world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua has made a substantial donation to boxing gyms as the 2012 Olympic gold medallist fears many may go out of business due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Numerous amateur gyms have been forced to shut temporarily through the lockdown and Joshua is concerned that many amateur boxers will have to hang up their gloves if some were to close permanently.
Joshua is the latest high-profile boxing personality to voice his fears following that of his promoter Eddie Hearn and Northern Ireland’s former two-weight world champion Carl Frampton. Read more
Frank Lampard sends warning to Chelsea stars ahead of ‘dangerous’ Arsenal derby (Metro)
Frank Lampard has warned his Chelsea players they can take nothing for granted against Arsenal on Boxing Day and believes Mikel Arteta’s side represent ‘dangerous’ opponents, regardless of their recent struggles. Chelsea bounced back from consecutive defeats at the hands of Everton and Wolves to record an ultimately convincing 3-0 win over West Ham at Stamford Bridge on Monday and move back into fifth place in the table. Arsenal, meanwhile, appear to be headed for a relegation battle with Arteta clinging to his position following a miserable run of form which has seen the Gunners drop to within four points of the bottom three. Read more
Tokyo 2020: Games organisers see budget increase for delayed event (France24)
Organisers of the delayed Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games will spend $900m (£670m) on measures to stop the spread of coronavirus at next year’s events.
The final budget means the Games will cost $15.9bn (£11.8bn) – up $2.8bn (£2.1bn) from figures last year.
It could make the Tokyo Games the most expensive summer Olympics in history.
“Whether you see this budget as expensive or not depends on how you look at it,” said Tokyo 2020 chief executive Toshiro Muto. Read more
Mikel Arteta permanently promotes Catalin Cirjan to Arsenal’s first-team training sessions (Metro)
Mikel Arteta has permanently promoted Catalin Cirjan to Arsenal’s first-team training sessions ahead of their Carabao Cup clash with Manchester City on Tuesday evening. The 18-year-old joined from Romanian side Viitorul Domnesti last year and signed his first professional contract with the Gunners a year ago. Cirjan started life at Arsenal with the Under-18s but in July he was fast-tracked to the Under-23s due to his impressive performances. Read more