Fire razes shops, offices in Plateau (Punch)
A fire outbreak at the Old Airport Junction in Jos, the Plateau State capital, on Wednesday destroyed several shops and offices, leaving traders and business owners counting their losses.
Eyewitnesses said the inferno began around 4:00 pm, prompting frantic calls to the fire services in Jos South and Jos North Local Government Areas.
“I came out of my office and saw fire everywhere. I don’t know the actual cause, but I immediately contacted the fire service. Thankfully, they mobilized their teams who are currently trying to extinguish the fire,” a witness, John Michael, told The PUNCH. Read more
Electricity: 750 Megawatts added to National Grid capacity – Adelabu (Leadership)
The Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, has announced a significant boost to Nigeria’s national grid capacity, attributing the improvement to progress made under the Siemens Presidential Power Initiative.
Speaking to State House correspondents on Wednesday in Abuja, Adelabu revealed that the pilot phase of the project has added 750 megawatts to the country’s transmission capacity.
He emphasised that the milestone has played a critical role in stabilising the nation’s fragile power grid. Read more
N2t Debt: Blackout looms as NMDPRA halts gas supply to GenCos (Tribune)
Facts have emerged that Nigeria faces an imminent blackout as the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) has directed gas producers to stop the supply of gas to indebted generation companies (GenCos).
The Nigeria National Grid on its X official account on Wednesday said NMDPRA’s directive to halt gas supply to GenCos is due to the over N2 trillion debts that the Federal Government and some GenCos owe gas producers in Nigeria.
According to the tweet, NMDPRA specifically that the humongous debts being owed producers has affected their ability to sustain operations. Read more
Former NIMC DG extols Abubakar at 90 (ThisDay)
The immediate past Director-General of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), Aliyu Aziz, has paid glowing tributes to a former Minister of Defence, Prof. Iya Abubakar, as he clocks 90 years on December 13.
In a statement he titled ‘Celebrating a Visionary at 90’, Aziz said it was with immense pride and gratitude that he joined the celebration of an extraordinary milestone in the life of an exceptional leader and trailblazer – Senator Prof. Iya Abubakar.
According to Aziz, himself an ID4Africa Emeritus Ambassador, at 90, Prof. Abubakar’s legacy stands tall “as a symbol of intellectual brilliance, visionary leadership, and boundless dedication to the advancement of education, technology, and nation-building.” Read more
Famous Fuji Musician Saheed Osupa sets to honour Nollywood Stars in Lagos (Leadership)
Fuji music star, King Saheed Osupa is set to honour top Yoruba Nollywood stars at his highly anticipated Show, “Friends of Osupa Exclusive Agbada White Party”, scheduled to hold on December 25, 2024, in Lagos.
The show, packaged and put together by Lahmad Concept Ltd, has received the endorsement of top Yoruba Nollywood stars, including Oga Bello, Madam Saje, Baba Wande, Jide Kosoko, Iya Abeni, and Dele Odule.
The veteran actors and actresses have expressed their excitement and support for King Saheed Osupa’s Show, which promises to be an unforgettable experience. Read more
Afe Babalola seeks FG’s approval for free Trade Zone in ABUAD industrial park (Nation)
The renowned legal luminary, Chief Afe Babalola SAN has pleaded with the Federal Government to grant approval to the Afe Babalola University Industrial Park, Ado-Ekiti.
Babalola said that the 132 units of the ABUAD industrial park was enough to turn the story of Nigeria around, if well annexed, and utilised.
The elder statesman made the plead on Wednesday in Ado-Ekiti, when playing host to delegates from the China-Nigeria Consortium, on Industry and Education, held at the ABUAD-China Partnership Forum Meeting. Read more
Tax Reform Bills: VAT funds will not be mismanaged, says Oyedele (Vanguard)
The Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, Taiwo Oyedele, has assured Nigerians that the funds generated from Value Added Tax (VAT) under the proposed tax reform bills will not be mismanaged.
Speaking during a one-day roundtable on tax reform bills organized by the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILDS) in Abuja, Oyedele emphasized that the bills currently before the National Assembly include specific provisions outlining how VAT proceeds should be utilized.
According to him, these measures ensure no state governor or local council authority can divert funds to non-essential or white elephant projects. He highlighted that the reforms incorporate a comprehensive framework for tax collection and expenditure, ensuring transparency and accountability. Read more
Hisbah seizes 200 cartons of alcohol in Sokoto (DailyTrust)
The Sokoto State Hisbah Board has seized 200 cartons of alcohol in the state’s central motor park.
This was disclosed by the board’s Commander, Dr Usman Jatau, on Wednesday.
However, no suspect was arrested as nobody claimed ownership of the seizure made during the operation.
“The alcohol were arrested at the Sokoto Central Motor Park shortly after arriving the state and there was nobody who claim its ownership,” he said
The board also banned sales and consumption of illicit drugs, alcohol as well as mingling and blending between different sexes in the state. Read more
Jennifer Lopez’s next Ben Affleck movie “Kiss of the Spider Woman” will premiere at Sundance (DailyMail)
Jennifer Lopez and her estranged fourth husband Ben Affleck might be divorcing, but their creative partnership lives on in the newly-released film Unstoppable and the upcoming film “Kiss of the Spider Woman”.
On Wednesday, the 55-year-old pop diva proudly tweeted the first still from Bill Condon’s big-screen adaptation of the West End musical, featuring Tonatiuh and Diego Luna, which will have its world premiere at the 41st annual Sundance Film Festival.
Affleck is one of the eight credited executive producers on “Kiss of the Spider Woman” along with his buddy Matt Damon, Luna, and Lopez herself. Read more
Mufasa’s Barry Jenkins is married! Director reveals he tied the Knot with filmmaker Lulu Wang (People)
Barry Jenkins is a married man!
While attending the premiere of his new film “Mufasa: The Lion King”, which he directed, Jenkins, 45, confirmed that he married fellow filmmaker Lulu Wang over the weekend of Dec. 6.
“It feels good, man,” Jenkins told PEOPLE of being a newlywed. “You know, we’ve been together for quite some time. We do the same thing, and when I started this project she was very heavily involved. You know, and then sort of, like, convincing me to at least consider reading the script,” he revealed. Read more
Sir Elton John says legalising cannabis is “one of the greatest mistakes of all time’’ (LBC)
Sir Elton John has branded the legalisation of marijuana in North America as “one of the greatest mistakes of all time.”
The pop legend, who has been sober for 34 years after suffering from addiction issues, opened up about the drug as he was named Time’s icon of the year.
Sir Elton said it is “tough to hear” how bad your behaviour has become, and said admitting this helped him get clean. Read more
Rape allegation against Jay-Z won’t impact NFL’s relationship with music mogul, AP sources say (ABC)
A rape allegation against rapper Jay-Z, whose company Roc Nation has produced some of the NFL’s entertainment presentations including the Super Bowl halftime show, won’t impact the league’s relationship with the music mogul, two people familiar with the matter told The Associated Press on Wednesday.
“With the ongoing legal process, there’s no change to the relationship with Roc Nation and that includes the Super Bowl,” one of the people told the AP, speaking on condition of anonymity because it’s a legal matter.
A woman who previously sued Sean “Diddy” Combs, alleging she was raped at an awards show after-party in 2000 when she was 13 years old, amended the lawsuit Sunday to include a new allegation that Jay-Z was also at the party and participated in the sexual assault. Read more
Syria’s rebel leader: No pardons for detainee torturers, killers (UPI)
The commander of Syria’s rebels who overthrew the regime of President Bashar Assad, Ahmad Sharaa, said Wednesday that those involved in torturing and killing thousands of detainees will not be pardoned.
Meanwhile, a great number of them, including missing U.S. journalist Austin Tice, remain unaccounted for.
Sharaa, better known as Abou Mohammed al Jolani, who heads the Islamist “Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS, said “we will not pardon those involved in torturing the detainees and liquidating them.” Read more
Austin Butler to lead Luca Guadagnino’s ‘‘American Psycho’’ (NME)
Austin Butler is reportedly set to play Patrick Bateman in Luca Guadagnino‘s upcoming “American Psycho” film.
Per a Variety report, Butler has been tapped to play the iconic serial killer, taking over the role from Christian Bale. Butler will lead Challengers director Guadagnino’s new take on American Psycho, which won’t be a remake of the beloved 2000 film, but will be a new interpretation of Easton Ellis’ novel.
Variety‘s report also suggests that Euphoria and Priscilla star Jacob Elordi was in the front-running for the role, which eventually went to Butler. This isn’t the first time Butler and Elordi have vied for the same or similar roles – both men portrayed different versions of Elvis Presley in recent years; Butler starred in Elvis, while Elordi starred in Priscilla. Read more
UN General Assembly demands immediate Gaza ceasefire, release of hostages (VOA)
The U.N. General Assembly demanded on Wednesday an immediate and permanent ceasefire in the Gaza Strip as well as the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages still being held by Palestinian militants.
“The message that it is sending is that we are with you,” Palestinian envoy Riyad Mansour said after the vote. He added that it shows that Israel and its main backer, the United States, are more isolated in the international community over the war.
The ceasefire resolution, which had 85 co-sponsors, was adopted with 158 votes in favor and nine against, including the United States and Israel. Read more
2025 CHANQ: Home-based Eagles must utilise every goal scoring opportunity against Ghana (CompleteSports)
Former Nigerian international Friday Ekpo has advised the home-based Eagles to capitalize on every goal-scoring chance that comes their way ahead of the anticipated two-legged CHAN qualifying fixture against archrivals Ghana.
The two-legged encounter will determine which team secures a ticket to the tournament, which Nigeria has failed to qualify for in the last two editions.
The CHAN Eagles lost the 2023 ticket to Ghana on penalties and are keen to make amends this time. Read more
Super Eagles goalie, Maduka Okoye undergoes successful wrist surgery (Vanguard)
Super Eagles and Udinese goalkeeper Maduka Okoye has successfully undergone surgery for a torn ligament in his right hand.
The Nigerian shot-stopper confirmed the procedure’s success on Wednesday, expressing gratitude to the medical team and vowing to support his team while focusing on his recovery.
Okoye had played through the injury for the past two months, demonstrating remarkable resilience despite the discomfort. Read more
FIFA confirms Saudi Arabia as 2034 World Cup hosts (BBC)
The 2034 men’s football World Cup will be held in Saudi Arabia, while Spain, Portugal and Morocco will be joint hosts for the 2030 tournament, world governing body Fifa has confirmed.
Three matches in the 2030 tournament will also be held in Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay to mark 100 years of the competition.
The hosts for both World Cups were confirmed at Wednesday’s Extraordinary Fifa Congress meeting following a vote. Read more
Women’s Football: 2027 World Cup Set for June 24 to July 25 (AfricaNews)
The 2027 Women’s World Cup will take place in Brazil from June 24 to July 25. FIFA, the governing body of international football, announced these dates on Tuesday.
Thirty-two teams will compete in the Women’s World Cup, which will be held in South America for the first time.
Brazil is one of the three CONMEBOL host countries. UEFA has the highest number of slots with 11, followed by the AFC with six, CAF and CONCACAF with four each, and the OFC with one. The remaining spots will be determined through playoffs. Read more
Champions League: Juventus beat Man City, Barcelona into knockout stage (France24)
Manchester City’s crisis continued with a 2-0 defeat away to Juventus in the Champions League on Wednesday, while Pep Guardiola’s old club Barcelona beat Borussia Dortmund to clinch a spot in the knockout stage of Europe’s elite club competition.
Arsenal, AC Milan, Atletico Madrid, Lille, Feyenoord and Stuttgart were also victorious, but City’s latest loss in a miserable run will dominate the headlines.
The 2023 European champions succumbed in Turin as Dusan Vlahovic put Juventus ahead early in the second half when goalkeeper Ederson was unable to keep out his header. Read more
Harry Brook replaces Joe Root as world’s top-ranked Test batter (BelfastTelegraph)
Harry Brook has taken over from England team-mate Joe Root at the top of the International Cricket Council’s Test batter world rankings.
Brook scored his eighth Test century against New Zealand in Wellington last week, edging him one point ahead of Root on 898.
The 25-year-old joins India great Sachin Tendulkar with the equal 34th highest rating of all time for Test batters. Read more