How Nigerian Twitter helped keke rider raise over N1m to pay hospital bills (Guardian)
When Emmanuel Nweke’s wife Gift was delivered of a baby through a Caesarean section (CS) on November 5, he was happy the child and his wife were in good condition.
But there was a problem. The hospital bill was way more than he could afford. His monthly income was too meagre to support such a burden.
“I looked everywhere, but no hope,” 30-year-old Emmanuel told The Guardian during a visit to his home in Lagos.
The tricycle he rides, according to him, was acquired through hire purchase. He had an agreement with the owner to deposit N20,000 weekly until he completes the full payment of N800,000 before he takes full ownership of the tricycle. Read more
‘Police broke into our houses like robbers, arrested our children’ (Punch)
Five months after her husband passed on, Mrs Roselin Ebiesua is gradually getting over her sorrow as she prepares to forge ahead with life of a widow, and shouldering the upkeep of her four children alone.
On Sunday, December 1, she was joined by family and friends at a church in Ajegunle, an ancient Lagos community, for thanksgiving in memory of her late husband. Ebiesua’s only son, Adeleke, a student at The Polytechnic Ibadan, Oyo State, also travelled all the way from the school that day to be part of the memorable event.
Donning a universal dress (aso ebi) on the occasion, the day – for the Ebiesuas – seemingly marked a transition from a mournful state to a new phase in life. At dusk, the family retired to bed expecting dawn to usher in the fresh path. Read more
Ikeja Electric disconnects Lagos magistrates’ courts over N1.9m debt (Punch)
A three-storeyed building on Alhaji Alli Lane, housing Ogba Magistrates’ Courts, Lagos State, has been disconnected by Ikeja Electric over N1.9m electricity bills.
City Round learnt that the debt piled up for months, making the distribution company to disconnect the facility on Tuesday.
Our correspondent who visited the court on Friday observed that workers opened office windows for ventilation as there was no electricity to power the air conditioners in the building. Read more
Standard gauge: We are impressed with pace of work, says NASS (Nation)
The National Assembly on Saturday threw its weight behind the ongoing construction of the Lagos-Ibadan standard gauge tracks.
The joint committee on Land Transport of the Senate and House of Representatives, expressed delight at the pace of work, saying they were impressed that the project is nearing completion.
The Joint Committee had embarked on the routine inspection as part of its oversight functions. Read more
7 policemen, Civil Defence officers nabbed for robbery (Guardian)
Three Policemen, four officers of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NCDSC) and one maintenance staff on guard duty at the Governor’s office have been arrested for burglary and stealing.
The men are being interrogated at the State Criminal Intelligence and Investigation Department, Yenagoa, over the stealing of N3.5 million from a safe in the Deputy Chief of Staff’s office. It was gathered that the main entrance of the office was broken into and the safe inside, vandalised. Read more
Man chains, drags daughter for being absent from school (Punch)
The Nasarawa State Command of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps has apprehended a 56-year-old man, Dahiru Inusa, for allegedly chaining and dragging his 15- years-old daughter on the street in Lafia, the state capital.
Parading the suspect at the headquarters of the NSCDC on Friday, the corps commandant, Mr Muhammad Mahmoud-Fari, said the suspect was arrested on Wednesday at Bukan-Sidi area of Lafia.
The NSCDC boss explained that the suspect claimed the daughter had become wayward and refused to go to school, adding that his action was to tame her. Read more
Reps to begin constitutional amendment in 2020, says Speaker (Nation)
The Speaker of the House of Representatives Femi Gbajabiamila has said that the House will begin the process of amending the 1999 constitution in 2020, as well as the Petroleum Industry Governance Bill (PIGB).
The Speaker who said this at a retreat organised for chairmen of standing committees of the House organised by the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILDS) said both the constitution review and the PIGB are part of the bills that the House would prioritise in 2020.
He said the House will do everything within its powers to give Nigerians the best in terms of laws that would promote peace and good governance in the country. Read more
Sowore ReArrest: There will be consequences, U.S. senator threatens (Vanguard)
A United States Senator representing New Jersey, Bob Menendez has denounced the actions of the Nigerian Department of State Services (DSS) for rearresting the RevolutionNow protest leader, Omoyele Sowore.
Menendez in a video addressing the world press conference with Sowore’s wife said; “He [Sowore] was released by court order. He should be released.”
“We are watching and we will continue to press and the consequences of anything happening to Mr Sowore will be far beyond any harm, that comes to him.”
“There will be consequences in our relationship with Nigeria.” Read more
Hajj 2020: Nigeria gets 95,000 slots, signs MoU with Saudi Arabia (DailyTrust)
Nigeria has retains its 95,000 slot allocation for 2020 Hajj pilgrimage. The spokesman of the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON), Fatima Sanda Usara, said on Saturday in a statement that this formed part of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by Minister of State Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Zubairu Dada on behalf of Nigeria and the Saudi Arabian Minister of Hajj and Umrah, Dr. Saleh Bn Taher Benten who signed on behalf of the Kingdom. Read more
Pope meets with embattled Malta PM despite plea to cancel (Guardian)
Pope Francis held a private audience with outgoing Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat on Saturday, despite a plea to cancel the meeting over a scandal-hit investigation into the murder of a journalist.
The Argentine pontiff met Muscat and his family for an event the Vatican said had been scheduled months ago.
Muscat said Sunday he will step down in January after mass protests over a much-criticised probe into the 2017 murder of investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, which has also led to the resignations of his chief of staff and tourism minister.
Twenty-two Maltese academics sent the pope a letter, dated before Muscat’s decision to step down, asking Francis to cancel a meeting they slammed as a “propaganda exercise” for the prime minister. Read more
Late Eagles star for burial Dec 14 (Nation)
The burial of the late Super Eagles’ forward c who died on October 2 in the United States has been fixed for December 14 at Ngo Okpala, Imo State.
Austin Bold FC chairman, Bobby Epstein disclosed that the Nigerian international passed away a day after he was benched in his club’s 2-1 away win at Portland Timbers.
The 31-year-old ex-Flying Eagles captain died after collapsing during a workout in his apartment complex gym, with reports suggesting heart failure. Read more
South Africans emerge winners of Remo marathon (Punch)
Thobile Mbopkwa from South Africa has emerged the champion of the IAU African Championship held in Remo on Saturday.
Prosper Mutwira from Zimbabwe came second in 3:05:25.
Iliya Pam of Nigeria placed third with a time of 3:12:35.
Also, South Africa’s Saneliswe Mbanjwa was the first woman to finish the race in 3.04.45. Read more
Ferguson’s Everton bounce back from derby pain to beat Chelsea (Guardian)
Chelsea slipped to their third Premier League defeat in four matches on Saturday as Everton bounced back from their Merseyside derby humiliation to win 3-1 and escape from the relegation zone.
Goals early in each half from Richarlison and Dominic Calvert-Lewin put the home side 2-0 up and although Mateo Kovacic pulled one back, Calvert-Lewin struck again late to seal the win.
The three points for Everton, under the temporary charge of Duncan Ferguson following the sacking of Marco Silva, lifts them to the relative comfort of 14th spot in the table.
Frank Lampard’s men remain in fourth place but Wolves could close the gap to just three points if they beat Brighton on Sunday. Read more
Benzema delivers again as Madrid cruise past Espanyol (Guardian)
Real Madrid were without Eden Hazard and Gareth Bale on Saturday but Karim Benzema stepped up again to ensure they beat struggling Espanyol in La Liga.
Benzema scored one and set up another in a 2-0 win at the Santiago Bernabeu, where Madrid wore an all-green kit to show support for this week’s Climate Summit in the city.
Victory means Zinedine Zidane’s side move to the top of the table, for a few hours at least, before Barcelona play later on Saturday at home to Real Mallorca. Read more
Mourinho reacts to United loss by sleeping at training ground (Vanguard)
Jose Mourinho said he reacted to Tottenham’s midweek defeat at Manchester United by sleeping at the club’s training ground.
Mourinho’s 100 percent record since taking over at Spurs came to an end in a 2-1 loss against his former club at Old Trafford.
However, he said he refused to wallow in pity and instead started planning for Saturday’s home game against Burnley. Read more
100 girls qualify for Oshoala Football Championship final phase (Guardian)
The first phase of the Asisat Oshoala Football Championship for Girls ended at the Campos Mini Stadium, Lagos yesterday with 100 girls picked for the next stage of the programme.
15 players from Ghana and Benin Republic were among the 100 girls, who will compete at the finals. A Lagos academy and Abuja football clubs produced the highest number of players for the final.
According to the organisers of the championship, the players picked for the final round slot will begin the next phase of the programme on December 22 and end on December 24. Read more
Kepa get in the bin’- Angry Chelsea fans rip into goalie (Vanguard)
Kepa Arrizabalaga’s blunder ensured Everton got a 3-1 win in the first matchweek 16 game at Goodison Park and fans of Chelsea football club are absolutely livid.
25 years old Kepa joined the London side last year and has made some horrible blunders in that time that left fans and critics questioning the price he was brought in for.
With Chelsea looking to come back into the game after Kovacic made it 2-1, Kepa’s misplaced pass in the 84th minute made way for Calvert-Lewin to slot the ball in between the legs of the goalkeeper and put the game beyond Chelsea. Read more
Osimhen nets goal number 9 for Lille (Nation)
Lille forward, Victor Osimhen scored his ninth Ligue 1 goal yesterday when the he scored against Brest in the 16th minute of their encounter.
The Super Eagles forward who scored the only goal of the encounter collected a pass from Jonathan Ikone to bury the visitors and continue his rich vein of form this season. He also has two assist to his credit.
The Nigerian striker troubled the visitor throughout and had other chances to increase his tally. He has proved to be a good buy and is setting the French league alight. Read more
Real Madrid 2-0 Espanyol: Zidane’s men march on despite Mendy dismissal (Vanguard)
Real Madrid extended their unbeaten run to nine games in all competitions with a straightforward 2-0 win over struggling Espanyol on Saturday.
Raphael Varane opened his season account and sent Los Blancos on their way to a fourth consecutive LaLiga victory with a left-footed finish in the 37th minute.
Karim Benzema made the points safe when he swept home Federico Valverde’s pass 11 minutes from full-time, making Ferland Mendy’s late sending off for a needless second booking the only blight on an otherwise unfussy showing. Read more