Flood: Lagos Assembly tasks Ambode on drainage (Vanguard)
Lagos State House of Assembly, yesterday, called on Governor Akinwunmi Ambode to reactivate the Office of Drainage Service in the state in order to checkmate potential flood hazard. The lawmakers also called on the Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Prince Rotimi Ogunleye to clear illegal structures built on setbacks of canals across the state. Read more
Minimum wage: Governors propose N22,500 (Nation)
The Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) on Tuesday agreed to pay a national minimum wage of N22,500 from the existing N18,000. The Chairman of the Forum and Governor of Zamfara State, Abdul’aziz Yari disclosed this while briefing newsmen at the end of its 2nd emergency meeting held in Abuja. Yari said that the decision was arrived at after a briefing from the forum representatives at the Tripartite Committee. Read more
Amnesty International expresses concerns over Shiites, soldiers clash (Guardian)
Amnesty International Nigeria has expressed concerns over the clash between members of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria known as Shiites and officers of the Nigerian army. Members of Shiites had on Monday, in Abuja held a march to protest the detention of their leader El-Zakzaky and other members by the Chief of Army Staff, Tukur Buratai, since 2015. Read more
Rebel leader to attend peace ceremony in South Sudan (Vanguard)
South Sudan’s rebel leader Riek Machar will return to the capital Juba this week to take part in a peace ceremony, a spokesman said Tuesday It will be the first time Machar has set foot in the city since he fled two years ago under a hail of gunfire when an earlier peace deal collapsed. Lam Paul Gabriel, a spokesman for Machar’s SPLM-IO rebel group, said the leader will “travel to Juba for the peace celebration” due Wednesday. Read more
US vets rip Trump for sending 5,000 troops to border (CNN)
With his decision to deploy more than 5,000 troops to the US-Mexico border, President Donald Trump has ordered more military personnel to the US southwest than he has serving in some of the world’s most contentious combat zones. Senior military officers have defended the deployment on national security grounds but the mission — dubbed Operation Faithful Patriot — raises a slew of questions, with many veterans condemning it as a political stunt by a President eager to fire up his political base just days away from the midterm elections. Read more
Denmark accuses Iran of assassination plot (BBC)
Denmark has accused Iran’s intelligence agencies of planning to assassinate an Iranian activist on Danish soil. The target was believed to be a member of an Arab separatist movement, Denmark’s intelligence service said. Denmark has recalled its ambassador from Tehran and is consulting other EU countries about imposing new sanctions against Iran. Read more
Ogunbote extends Rangers deal (Punch)
Rangers have extended coach Gbenga Ogunbote’s contract with the side by one year, according to the News Agency of Nigeria. Ogunbote guided the Antelopes to the Aiteo Cup title by beating Kano Pillars in a penalty shootout in Asaba last week. General Manager of the Enugu Premier League club Davidson Owumi told reporters in Enugu on Tuesday that Ogunbote’s contract had been terminated by the Enugu State Government club, who owns the outfit. Read more
Sunshine unveil Dogo, move to settle sacked players, coaches (Punch)
Sunshine Stars on Tuesday unveiled former Nasarawa United coach Kabiru Dogo as their new manager. One of our correspondents learnt that the Akure side fought off stiff opposition from Premier League rivals including Kano Pillars to tie him down to an Owena Waves contract. The Ondo State Government-owned outfit have been bedevilled by financial and managerial crises since last year. Read more
Why Mikel was left out of Eagles’ squad against South Africa (Guardian)
Super Eagles coach, Gernot Rohr, has explained why he decided to ignore team captain, John Mikel Obi, from the Cameroun 2019 AFCON qualifier against the Bafana Bafana of South Africa. Mikel was left out in the matches against Seychelles and Libya, which the Eagles won. The decision by Rohr to exclude the China-based midfielder from the cracker against South Africa is fueling speculations in some quarters that Mikel have retired from national duty. Read more
Black Queens wary of Super Falcons’ threat at AWCON (Guardian)
Former Black Stars of Ghana International, Abukari Damba, has advised his compatriots, the Black Queens, not to concentrate on beating the Super Falcons of Nigeria, but focus on dealing with the countries in their group. Both countries have met thrice at the finals of the Africa Women Cup of Nations (AWCON), and the Super Falcons triumphed on those occasions. Read more
Real need to show character – Solari (BBC)
Interim coach Santiago Solari has said Real Madrid need to show character in his first game in charge. Julen Lopetegui was sacked after Real’s 5-1 defeat at Barcelona on Sunday left the Spanish giants ninth in La Liga. He has been “provisionally replaced” by B-team coach Solari and the Argentine, 42, takes Real to third-tier Melilla in the Copa del Rey on Wednesday. Read more
Policemen, LASTMA officials arrested for alleged extortion (Guardian)
The Lagos State police command has arrested four policemen and three Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) officials for their alleged involvement in extorting a motorist in the state. Spokesman of the command, CSP Chike Oti, who made the disclosure, noted that the officials were caught trying to extort a motorist whom they gave an account number for payment of the bribe. Read more
Teenager drowns in police college swimming pool (Punch)
A teenager, Ifeanyi Onyekwere, has reportedly drowned in a swimming pool in the Police College, Ikeja, Lagos State. PUNCH Metro gathered that the 17-year-old was assisting his mother at her shop before he left for the college where he died. Ifeanyi’s mother, Ada, said lifeguards at the pool did not watch over the swimmers to keep them safe. Read more
Controversy as UNILAG graduating student dies after final exams (Punch)
The death of a 400-level student of the Department of Microbiology, University of Lagos, Adeniyi Ogundijo, has continued to generate controversy. While some claimed that the 22-year-old committed suicide over poor performance in his final exams, his friends and family members said he was killed. The school authorities, however, urged everyone to stop speculating on the cause of his death, saying the family kept mum when questioned by the management. Read more