How my UTME result was forged, Mmesoma makes fresh revelation (DailyTrust)
Ejikeme Mmesoma, the 19-year-old student of Anglican Girls’ Secondary School, Uruagu Nnewi, Anambra State, has narrated how she manipulated her result.
Messoma has been in the news since the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) punctured her claim of being the highest scorer in the 2023 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
JAMB had said she scored 249 in the examination as against the 362 which she claimed, but the candidate released a video where she stood her ground. Read more
Mmesoma: We’ve been vindicated, says JAMB (Guardian)
The Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Saturday says it has been vindicated by the report of the Commission of Inquiry set up by the Anambra State Government, to look into the alleged forgery of UTME result by Mmesoma.
JAMB said the report of the committee has further reinforced the position of the board that its system “was not and cannot be compromised”.
The examination body in a statement on Saturday by its Spokesman, Fabian Benjamin said “It is to be noted that the Board has built a reputation in terms of the conduct of credible examinations over the years and cannot afford to fail the nation at this critical juncture of its development. Read more
Fake UTME result: Ezekwesili backs JAMB’s sanction on Mmesomma (Sun)
Former Minister of Education, Dr. Oby Ezekwesili, said on Saturday, that she’s in support of whatever punitive decision of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) against Miss Mmesomma Ejikeme, after an investigative panel found her guilty of forging the 2023 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
Dr. Ezekwesili, in a statement posted on her verified twitter handle, said her decision followed the report of the panel which found Mmesomma guilty of forging UTME result and claiming that she scored 362, and should be regarded as the highest scorer.
The statement reads: “I have read the report of the Committee set up by Anambra State Government to investigate and report their independent findings on the Mmesoma and JAMB saga. I am satisfied with the process and findings of their investigation which gave Mmesoma fair hearing to enable the Committee gather all facts. Read more
Mmesoma’s father pleads with Nigerians, JAMB to pardon daughter (Nation)
Mr. Romanus Ejikeme, the father of Mmesoma Ejikeme, the 2023 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) candidate who falsified her result, has tendered an unreserved apology to JAMB and Nigerians.
The Nation reports eight-member panel set up by Anambra Governor Charles Soludo to investigate the controversies surrounding the results, had exposed the candidate.
JAMB barred Mmesoma from taking its exam for the next three years.
Romanus admitted that he didn’t know where his daughter registered for the examination but he gave her the money for the registration. Read more
Ban: Again, Lagos ready to checkmate Okada operators — Taskforce boss (Vanguard)
The Lagos State Taskforce on Environmental and Special Offences Unit, has reiterated its commitment to eliminate the menace of Okada operators who have devised new means of operating on the highways and restricted routes across the metropolis.
The Chairman of the agency, Chief Superintendent of Police, CSP, Shola Jejeloye, had led a series of week-long operations across strategic locations where recalcitrant operators have been plying commercially but with the use of a different type of inconspicuous motorcycles, popularly called “Lady Machine.”
Jejeloye added, “Some of these recalcitrant okada operators who had their bikes seized in the past have acquired these more portable types of bikes called lady machines to carry out their operations on the Highways. Read more
Sanwo-Olu appoints 2 deputy VCs for LASUSTECH (Tribune)
Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has approved the appointment of Prof Abiodun Akinpelu Denloye and Prof Basirat Olushola Oladipupo as the substantive Deputy Vice-Chancellors of the Lagos State University of Science and Technology (LASUSTECH), located in Ikorodu. The former will be in charge of Academic Matters while the latter will be in charge of Administration.
Announcing their appointments in a statement made available on Saturday by Mr Oyelami Adesoye, Head of Public Affairs unit, Office of Special Adviser to the Governor on Education, the Lagos State Head of Service, Mr Hakeem Muri-Okunola said the appointment of the two dons was in line with LASUSTECH Law, 2021, aiming at ensuring that there is no void in the institution’s leadership.
While wishing both appointees well in their new roles, the head of service urged them to demonstrate a high level of dedication, diligence, and selflessness in the discharge of their duties to justify the confidence and trust reposed in them by the state government. Read more
Oil thieves strike in Lagos, vandalise NNPCL’s site (NewTelegraph)
Suspected oil thieves in the early hours of Saturday vandalised a pipeline belonging to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) in the Idimu Local Government Area of Lagos State in an attempt to steal Premium Motor Spirit, (PMS), popularly called petrol or fuel.
Their nefarious activity was, however, thwarted by the personnel from the Lagos State Police Command who stormed the site.
The oil thieves were said to have abandoned their tools and fled the site after the police personnel suddenly appeared. Read more
Amotekun arrests 2 for impersonating Police, stealing in Osun (Channels)
The operatives of Osun Amotekun Corps on Friday arrested two suspects for impersonating police and stealing in Ile-Ife, Osun State.
The suspects are Isaiah Friday Ezekiel, 41 years old from Cross Rivers State and John Apata Koffi, 60, from Togo.
State Commander, Amotekun Corps, Brig-Gen. Bashir Adewinbi, in a statement on Friday, said the suspects on Thursday conspired and burgled a house in Eleweran Kajola Village in Ile-Ife, where they stole a bag of cement. Read more
Nigerian pilgrim “returns lost $80k” in Saudi (DailyTrust)
Aishatu y’an Guru Nahuce, a Nigerian pilgrim from Zamfara State, has reportedly returned $80,000 she found to the owner in Saudi Arabia.
Independent Hajj Reporters of Nigeria disclosed this on its Facebook page on Saturday.
The platform also shared the picture of pilgrim who hails from from Bungudu Local Government Area of Zamfara. Read more
Taylor Swift brings Taylor Lautner and Joey King onstage after premiering new music video at Kansas City Show (People)
There are few things Taylor Swift does better than revenge — but surprising her fans is certainly one of them!
Swift, 33, had some tricks up her sleeve Friday night at her Eras Tour stop in Kansas City, where she premiered a new music video for the song “I Can See You.” The video stars Joey King Presley Cash and Taylor Lautner, who inspired Speak Now’s “Back to December.”
While performing her first of two shows at Geha Field at Arrowhead Stadium, Swift surprised the crowd by bringing King, Lautner and Cash out after premiering the video. Lautner surprised the crowd by cartwheeling and backflipping onstage. Read more
Meta’s Threads has 70m signups, surprising Zuckerberg (Bloomberg)
Meta Platforms Inc.’s new social media app Threads has garnered 70 million users in just two days after its launch, a sign of enthusiasm that Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg said was “way beyond our expectations.”
Threads launched on Wednesday as an alternative to Elon Musk’s Twitter, which had 237.8 million users as of July 2022, but has also been beset by controversy. On Threads, which closely resembles Twitter’s look, people can post text and links and reply to or repost messages from others.
The app will let users port over their existing follower lists and account names from Instagram, Meta’s photo and video-sharing app that counts major brands, celebrities and creators among its more than 2 billion users. Read more
Library that expelled black astronaut Ronald McNair as a child is now named in his honour (Upworthy)
In 1959, Ronald McNair, a nine-year-old boy growing up in South Carolina, faced discrimination when he was unjustly expelled from a library in his neighborhood due to the colour of his skin.
This incident highlighted the struggles of racism that McNair experienced at a young age. While browsing through books at the library, the librarian instructed him to leave, but he defiantly refused.
He sat on the counter, making the decision not to leave. Eventually, they called the police and told the librarian to allow him to check out the books, per AfroTech. Read more
Christopher Nolan movie “Oppenheimer” will feature zero CGI shots (FarOut)
The British filmmaker behind the forthcoming biopic Oppenheimer, Christopher Nolan, has stated that there are zero CGI shots in his movie.
The highly-anticipated epic tells the story of J. Robert Oppenheimer, the American theoretical physicist who is known as the father of the atomic bomb. Featuring an all-star cast, Cillian Murphy is the actor with the responsibility of taking on the titular figure, with a supporting cast that includes the likes of Florence Pugh, Robert Downey Jr, Benny Safdie, Matt Damon and Emily Blunt.
News of the total lack of CGI came from a report from Collider. Nolan has previously discussed how he went about re-creating an authentic nuclear explosion without the use of CGI. Read more
Euphoria star Dominic Fike discusses struggles with drug use during filming (DigitalSpy)
Euphoria actor Dominic Fike has opened up about his battle with drugs during his time filming the second season of the HBO drama.
Fike played Elliot, a drug user who was part of Rue (Zendaya) and Jules’ (Hunter Schafer) love triangle, whilst being part of the reason for the former’s extended relapse.
Appearing on Zane Lowe’s show on Apple Music, the actor explained that creator Sam Levinson had hired a ‘sober coach’ in order to keep the actor off the drugs in real life. Unfortunately for him, he couldn’t keep clean. Read more
Ukraine’s Zelensky visits symbolic Snake Island to mark 500 days of war (NewArab)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited the symbolic Snake Island to mark 500 days of war in his country.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited Snake Island, a rocky outcrop on the Black Sea, to mark 500 days since Russia’s invasion, a video issued by his office on Saturday showed.
The tiny island became a symbol of Ukrainian defiance on the war’s first day after Ukrainian guards famously refused to surrender to Russian forces. Read more
Collision between 2 buses in New York City injures dozens (BBC)
An open-top tour vehicle collided with a bus in downtown Manhattan on Thursday evening, injuring dozens.
The accident occurred after 19:00 local time (00:00 BST), officials said, adding that both buses appear to have been fully occupied at the time.
The accident sent 27 people to the hospital, including the tour bus driver, CBS News reported.
In a news conference, fire department officials said it was too early to determine what caused the collision. Read more
Match bonus: Falcons have no plan to boycott World Cup game, says Onome Ebi (Punch)
Captain of the Super Falcons of Nigeria, Onome Ebi has denied a story by a leading Nigerian newspaper (Not The PUNCH) that the nine-time African champions are threatening to boycott their FIFA Women’s World Cup opening game against Canada in Melbourne on Friday, 21 July.
“I have no idea where that (boycott) is coming from. We (the players) never had any such conversations as regards that; we are good with training and ready for the World Cup,” Ebi told thenff.com at the team’s training camp in Gold Coast, Australia on Saturday morning.
The defender who is featuring in her sixth FIFA World Cup finals, added that the team’s training sessions have been intense but interesting, as they look forward to their Group B encounters against Olympic champions Canada, co-hosts Australia, and debutants Republic of Ireland. Read more
Victory over Enyimba good for Champions League quest – Remo (Vanguard)
Swashbuckling Nigerian league runners-up Remo Stars have continued to dazzle and stun football followers in the country with their free-flowing brand of football that saw them claim a thrilling 2-1 victory over champions Enyimba in a Group A match of the Naija Super 8 tournament on Friday.
After their show-stopping 3-0 bashing of Shooting Stars Sports Club of Ibadan in the south-west playoffs at the Eket Stadium in Akwa Ibom less than a fortnight ago, Remo Stars seemingly continued from where they stopped with two goals in either half in between an Enyimba equaliser to get a morale-boosting win over the most successful club in Nigeria.
The victory was so special for the Remo lads who are based in Ikenne, Ogun State. Read more
David de Gea announces he is leaving Manchester United after 12 seasons at Old Trafford (USAToday)
Veteran goalkeeper David de Gea has announced he is leaving Manchester United as a free agent after 12 seasons at Old Trafford.
The 32-year-old’s contract with United expired at the end of June, with no new deal agreed despite talks that took place throughout the season.
In a message on social media on Saturday, De Gea thanked United fans for their support but said: “Now, it’s the right time to undertake a new challenge, to push myself again in new surroundings.” Read more
Celtic: Kyogo Furuhashi is the “perfect” striker for team, says Brendan Rodgers (BBC)
Kyogo Furuhashi’s qualities as a striker make him “absolutely perfect” for how Celtic will play this season, says manager Brendan Rodgers.
The Japan forward, who has scored 54 goals in 83 games since joining the club in the summer of 2021, signed a new four-year deal with the Scottish champions this week.
Daizen Maeda followed his compatriot by also penning an four-year extension two days later, leading to Rodgers hailing the duo’s “outstanding” contribution to a trophy-laden spell. Read more
Mark Cavendish out of Tour de France after British cyclist involved in horror crash (Mirror)
Mark Cavendish is out of the 2023 Tour de France after suffering a heavy fall on stage eight.
Cavendish was vying for further records in his final appearance on the Tour. He had narrowly missed out on a record-breaking 35th stage win earlier in the 2023 edition, and he ends up level with the legendary Eddy Merckx on 34.
The Brit, who turned 38 in May, was involved in a crash involving a number of riders during the eighth stage. During a lengthy and decorated cycling career, he twice finished with the green jersey after topping the Tour de France points classification in both 2011 and 2021. Read more
Controversial Ashes take bizarre turn as Australia deny Alex Carey did not pay Leeds barber for a £30 haircut (Standard)
An already controversial Ashes series took a bizarre turn on a rain-affected day at Headingley as Australia were forced to deny that wicketkeeper Alex Carey failed to pay a Leeds barber for a haircut.
The strange accusation was aired by Sir Alastair Cook during a Test Match Special broadcast earlier this week, the former England captain claiming the barber in question had told him about the incident.
The barber says the Australians had been in,” Cook explained. “He didn’t know his cricket very well, so he was telling me what they looked like. Read more