Floods: No going back on right-of-way restoration — Lagos govt (Vanguard)
The Lagos State Government has restated that there is no going back on the restoration of all right-of-ways, RoW, of drainage channels encroached on across the metropolis, to stem floods.
The Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Tokunbo Wahab, stated this on Wednesday when top officials visited Isheri/ Aiyetoro/ Ologe Primary Channel at Anuoluwapo/Oke-Odan Street Ishashi, Ojo.
They also were at Alaba Rago Primary Channel (System 40B); Alaba International Market Primary channel (System 40), Ojo Local Government Area. Read more
Fleeing Lagos buttock-enlargement doctor now in custody — Police (Punch)
The Lagos State medical doctor, Idara Bassey, who was declared wanted in connection with the death of a 36-year-old woman during a buttock enlargement surgery at a clinic in Lekki Phase 1, is now in police custody, PUNCH Metro reports.
Our correspondent learnt from the state Police Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin, on Tuesday, that Bassey is currently being investigated at the State Criminal Investigation Department in Panti.
Bassey had previously fled after Abiola died during a buttock enlargement procedure at her clinic on August 26, 2024. Read more
Anambra arrests wife, children for beating up their 75 year-old father (Channels)
The Anambra state government through the Ministry of Women and Social Welfare has arrested one Esther Obidigwe, and her two children, Ozioma Obidigwe, and Obuka Obidigwe for beating up their father.
The arrest was done after the 75-year-old victim, Romanus reported to the ministry.
Sharing his experience with his family at the office of the commissioner, Obidigwe, a retired senior civil servant stated that his family has been in the habit of beating him. Read more
Afunanya removed as DSS Spokesman (DailyTrust)
The Department of State Services (DSS) has redeployed Peter Afunanya, its Director of Public Relations and Strategic Communications.
Afunanya, who revealed this at a press briefing in Abuja on Wednesday, did not disclose his next duty post, saying the redeployment was a normal routine exercise in the service to the nation.
Daily Trust reports that Afunanya, who had been in the media section of the secret police for more than 10 years, came on board at a time the agency was suffering from image credibility about six years ago. Read more
President to unveil APC’s institute tomorrow (Nation)
President Bola Tinubu will unveil the Progressives Institute – a think tank and resource centre established by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) tomorrow in Abuja.
The institute’s Head of Media and Strategic Communication, ‘Wale Abideen, announced this in a statement yesterday in Abuja.
The statement said the unveiling would be hosted by the APC National Chairman, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, while Imo State Governor and Chairman of Progressives Governors’ Forum (PGF), Hope Uzodimma, will deliver the inaugural lecture, titled: The Progressive Philosophy and Its Programmatic Implications on Governance. Read more
Lagos Train transports 2m passengers (ThisDay)
The Blue Line of the Lagos Rail Mass Transit has transported about two million passengers in the past one year.
The Managing Director, Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA), Mrs Abimbola Akinajo, made the disclosure in statement signed by the Head of Corporate Communications of LAMATA, Mr Kolawole Ojelabi, on Wednesday in Lagos.
The blue line was inaugurated by former President Muhammadu Buhari on January 23, 2023. Read more
NANS denounces claims of nationwide protest, seeks security intervention (Nation)
The leadership of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has denounced claims that it is planning a massive shutdown of major cities across the nation through protest.
In a statement, NANS Senate president, Comr Akinteye Babatunde Afeez, noted that the student association did not announce or endorse such, hence, rumours circulating to that effect are baseless and do not reflect the position or intentions of NANS.
It called on security agencies to act decisively in apprehending any individuals or groups attempting to use the name of NANS to incite unrest or disrupt the peace of the nation. Read more
Ekiti 2026: Govt depending on federal allocation can’t liberate state – Oluyede (Sun)
As the race for the 2026 governorship election is about to begin in Ekiti State, the former candidate of the African Democratic Congress(ADC) in the 2022 governorship election in the state, Dr Wole Oluyede, has said that only a productive government can liberate the state from the problems confronting it.
Oluyede, an Australia-based medical practitioner, blamed the past and the current government for over relying on allocation from the federal account, saying it is the cause of poverty in the state.
According to him, successive governments have failed to utilize the resources God has blessed Ekiti State with as they did not invest in any meaningful venture that will make the state self-reliant, develop as well as create wealth for its citizens. Read more
Taraji P. Henson and Terrence Howard have Empire reunion at “Fight Night” premiere (People)
Taraji P. Henson and Terrence Howard are building a new Empire together.
The former costars, who starred as Lucious and Cookie Lyon in the hit FOX series, reunited on Wednesday, Sept. 4, to celebrate their latest collaboration, Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist.
The actors posed for photos at the heist series’ premiere event at the Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York. Read more
Lady Gaga “lost a lot of weight” to play Harley Quinn in ‘‘Joker: Folie à Deux’’ (NME)
Joaquin Phoenix has said Lady Gaga “lost a lot of weight” to play “Harley Quinn in Joker: Folie à Deux”.
The follow up to 2019’s Joker, which is out on October 4, was premiered at the 81st Venice International Film Festival earlier today (September 4).
During a press conference, Phoenix said that much like 2019’s Joker, he was on a strict diet.
“I’m not going to talk through specifics of the diet, because I just think nobody wants to hear that. But this time, it felt a bit more complicated just because there was so much dance rehearsal that we were doing, which I didn’t have last time,” Phoenix said (via Variety). Read more
Travis Kelce spoke glowingly of Taylor Swift hours before “break up contract leak’’ (Standard)
Travis Kelce assured fans that all is well between him and girlfriend Taylor Swift as he gushed over the pop star just hours before his team had to address a leaked PR contract suggesting the exact date of their supposed breakup.
The NFL star shared sweet details about his surprise appearance at her Wembley Stadium show during the Eras Tour in June during an interview on the Rich Eisen Show on Tuesday.
Dressed in white tie and black tails, the Kansas City tight end took part in a lighthearted bit during The Tortured Poets Department segment before she launched into I Can Do It with a Broken Heart. Read more
Alison Brie’s Evil-Lyn will face off against Nicholas Galitzine’s He-Man in ‘Masters of the Universe’ (EW)
Alison Brie has been summoned to Eternia.
The Community star will play the villainous Evil-Lyn in Amazon’s upcoming live-action “Masters of the Universe” movie, which also stars Nicholas Galitzine as He-Man and Camila Mendes as Teela. Travis Knight (Kubo and the Two Strings, Bumblebee) is directing the film, which will be the latest iteration of the ’80s fantasy toy franchise that was previously adapted into a live-action movie, an animated movie, and numerous animated series.
In the Masters universe, Evil-Lyn serves as the second-in-command to the main antagonist, Skeletor, and possesses a mastery of witchcraft and sorcery. Linda Gary provided the character’s voice in the ’80s cartoon He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, while Meg Foster played her in the 1987 live-action movie that starred Dolph Lundgren as He-Man and Frank Langella as Skeletor. Read more
4 dead in Apalachee High School shooting in US state of Georgia (AlJazeera)
Four people have been killed in Georgia, part of the southern United States, after a shooter opened fire on the grounds of Apalachee High School in the city of Winder, northeast of Atlanta.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) said in a news conference on Wednesday that the gunman, a 14-year-old student named Colt Gray, surrendered without a struggle and was taken into custody.
Two of those killed were students and two were teachers, with nine people taken to local hospitals with “various injuries”. Read more
Joaquin Phoenix declines to address sudden exit from Todd Haynes’ gay romance (People)
Joaquin Phoenix is declining to address his controversial departure from Todd Haynes’ untitled gay romance movie just five days before it was scheduled to begin filming.
Phoenix, 49, was asked about the swift exit during a press conference for his upcoming movie “Joker: Folie à Deux” at the Venice Film Festival on Wednesday, Sept. 4.
“I think if I do [speak about the reasoning], I’d just be sharing my opinion from my perspective, and the other creatives aren’t here to say their piece, and it just doesn’t feel like that would be right,” the Oscar winner told the reporter who asked about the incident. Read more
Katy Perry makes astonishing reveal about performing sex act on Orlando Bloom (Mirror)
Katy Perry left listeners shocked when she admitted to performing a sex act on her fiancé Orlando Bloom to reward him for doing “all the dishes.”
The 39 year old singer, who rose to fame on the back of her hit single I Kissed A Girl, made the eyebrow-raising admission during an interview on Alex Cooper’s podcast show, Call Her Daddy. Katy and Orlando have been together for eight years and share a daughter together. Read more
AFCON qualifiers: Nigeria will be ready for Benin, says Dele-Bashiru (Punch)
Super Eagles midfielder Fisayo Dele–Bashiru has stated that the three-time Africa champions will be fully ready to face Benin Republic in their first 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying fixture on Saturday, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.
Augustine Eguavoen’s team will host the BeninoiNigeria host Benin Republic at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium on Saturday, September 7 to begin their qualifying campaign for the next AFCON tournament.
While the Eagles are favoured to win the encounter, the visitors will be buoyed by the result of their last encounter against the hosts, when they claimed a famous victory in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying fixture in Ivory Coast three months ago. Read more
Jude Bellingham gets Ballon d’Or nomination, but no Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo (IrishIndependent)
For the first time since 2003 neither Cristiano Ronaldo nor Lionel Messi have been included in the nominees for the men’s Ballon d’Or award, which were announced on Wednesday, with England’s Jude Bellingham among the 30 players named.
Portugal’s Ronaldo, who has won the award five times, also failed to receive a nomination last year, while Messi, who won for a record eighth time in 2023 and has been nominated 16 times, misses out despite Argentina’s Copa America win this year.
Spain, winners of Euro 2024, have six players nominated including 17-year-old Barcelona winger Lamine Yamal, along with Nico Williams, Alejandro Grimaldo, Dani Olmo, Rodri and Dani Carvajal who also won the Champions League with Real Madrid. Read more
Caitlin Foord slots 4 goals for Arsenal in 6-0 drubbing of Rangers (Fox)
Caitlin Foord scored four goals in a game for the first time since she was “a lot younger” but the Matildas star’s stunning haul for Arsenal came as she and her Australian teammates all failed to make the 30 nominations for the Ballon d’Or.
A year after injured Matildas captain Sam Kerr finished runner-up in the prestigious award, and Hayley Raso finished 17th in voting, not a single Australian female or male player was among the final nominations.
A failed Olympic campaign could have contributed to the lack of recognition for the Matildas in the Ballon d’Or, with the team unable to get out of the group stages in what turned out to be coach Tony Gustavsson’s final campaign. Read more
Navarro, Pegula carry home hopes in US Open women’s semi-finals (StraitsTimes)
Emma Navarro takes on Belarusian world number two Aryna Sabalenka and Jessica Pegula plays in-form Czech Karolina Muchova at Arthur Ashe Stadium on Thursday as home fans dare to dream of an all-American women’s final at the U.S. Open.
There could also be something for the home crowd to cheer about early on in the day with Taylor Townsend and Donald Young playing Italians Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori in the mixed doubles final. Read more
Caitlin Clark makes her 100th 3, finishes with triple-double as Fever beat Sparks 93-86 (DailyMail)
Caitlin Clark became the fastest player in WNBA history to reach 100 3-pointers in a season and finished with 24 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists for her second career triple-double as the playoff-bound Indiana Fever beat the Los Angeles Sparks 93-86 on Wednesday night.
Clark connected on her second 3 of the game and 100th of the season midway through the third quarter and added two more to reach 102 and finish 4 of 10 from long range. The No. 1 overall draft pick is the first rookie with 100 3s.
She also became the first rookie and fifth WNBA player with multiple triple-doubles in a season, joining Alyssa Thomas, Courtney Williams, Sabrina Ionescu and Candace Parker. Read more
Aston Villa Supporters Trust call for cheaper Champions League tickets (DailyMail)
Aston Villa’s Supporters Trust has called for the club to rethink its ‘extremely disappointing’ Champions League ticket pricing.
Villa will compete in Europe’s premier tournament for the first time in 41 years this campaign after finishing fourth in the Premier League table last season and progressing through their qualification round.
They have been drawn against the likes of Bayern Munich, Leipzig and Juventus in the new-look group stage, which will see teams play eight different opponents – four home and four away. Read more