Isese: Lagos declares Monday work-free day (Punch)
The Lagos State Government has declared Monday, August 21, as a work-free day for all public servants in the state in commemoration of the 2023 Isese Day celebration which will be held on Sunday, August 20.
This is contained in a circular dated August 18 and obtained by The PUNCH on Saturday.
The circular, which was signed by the Lagos State Head of Service, Mr. Hakeem Muri-Okunola, noted that the declaration of Monday as a work-free day for public servants by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu was “with a view to promoting our indigenous culture and tradition while preserving our heritage.” Read more
UNILAG denies another increment in school fees (Channels)
The University of Lagos (UNILAG) says it has not hiked its fees for the second time in one month, contrary to reports.
In July, the school raised some of its charges, citing the prevailing economic conditions in the country. Weeks after that, there were claims that the varsity had increased its fees.
But UNILAG was swift to debunk them, describing the reports as “misleading” and “unsubstantiated”. Read more
Reps begin probe of non-remittance of housing fund (DailyTrust)
The House of Representatives Ad hoc Committee on Non-remittance of the National Housing Fund (NHF) and the utilisation of the fund from 2011 has summoned critical stakeholders for its investigative hearing.
It set Aug. 23 to begin hearing into the matter.
Rep. Dachung Bagos, the Chairman of the committee, said this in a memo made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Saturday.
He said the Speaker of the House, Rep. Tajudeen Abbas, would inaugurate the committee on Wednesday. Read more
Wizkid loses mum (Punch)
Nigerian singer Ayodeji Balogun popularly known as Wizkid has lost his mother.
Wizkid’s mum, Mrs Jane Dolapo Balogun, died at around 1.30 am, Friday.
Confirming the incident to The PUNCH, Sunday Aare, Wizkid’s longtime manager said Mrs Balogun died in the early hours of Friday. Read more
House of Reps members storm LASU to assess TETfund projects (Leadership)
House of Representatives members have paid a scheduled visit to the main campus of Lagos State University, Ojo, for an on-the-spot assessment of TETFund funded projects in the university.
The delegation, led by a member of the House representing Kosofe Federal Constituency, Hon. Kafilat Ogbara, was on the Ojo Campus as part of the investigative exercise being carried out on TETFUND by the Green Chamber. Hon. Biodun Salami and Hon. Adetunji were the other members of the team.
The members were received by members of the management team led by the Acting Vice Chancellor, Prof. Adenike Boyo, with the Acting Director, Directorate of Special Intervention, Dr. Oseni Afisi, also present. Read more
Lagos launches project to promote sustainable environment (Guardian)
Lagos State government has launched a project “The Art for Climate Change”, with the aim of using creative art to tackle climate challenges and promote awareness and action through artistic expression.
In a statement, yesterday, the state government would be partnering with the Creative Youth Community Development Initiative – Solution17 for Climate Action, and New York University, Abu Dhabi in United Arab Emirates (UAE), to promote climate change awareness and action using artistic expression.
Speaking at a press conference in Ikeja to herald the launch of the Art for Climate Project, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Environment and Water Resources, Mr. Gaji Omobolaji, disclosed that artists from Lagos would collaborate with tech innovators, experts in relevant fields, students from New York University, Abu Dhabi and the Universities Climate Network United Arab Emirates (UAE), to co-create innovative solutions to problems around key thematic areas relevant to COP28, which will be depicted in art. Read more
Tinubu meets with Mbah, Archbishop Kaigama in Aso Rock (Vanguard)
President Bola Tinubu on Friday met with the governor of Enugu State, Mr Peter Mbah and the Catholic Archbishop of Abuja Archdiocese, His Grace Ignatius Kaigama at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Although details of the meetings were not made known to the press, it was gathered that the Enugu State Governor met the President over the development and security of the state.
Recall that Governor Mbah has expressed the vision to transform Enugu from a public sector to a private sector-driven economy and also raise the state’s GDP from the present $4.4 to $30 billion through private sector investment. Read more
CBN unveils fresh guidelines for forex sale by BDCs 2 years after ban (Channels)
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Friday unveiled a series of fresh operational guidelines for forex sales by Bureau de Change (BDC) operators in the country.
This is coming more than two years after the suspended CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele, announced the suspension of foreign exchange sales to BDC operators in that segment of the forex market.
Under the new framework, the spread on buying and selling by BDC operators is set to fall within a permissible range of -2.5% to +2.5% of the Nigerian foreign exchange market window’s weighted average rate from the previous day. Read more
Alice Cooper suggested Johnny Depp and Amber Heard remake War of the Roses (Deadline)
Alice Cooper reveals he has only once ever brought up with his friend Johnny Depp the subject of the actor’s acrimonious divorce, which saw Depp and his ex-wife Amber Heard embroiled in courtroom battles on either side of the Atlantic.
Cooper, who has for eight years played in the band Hollywood Vampires with Depp, told the UK’s Times newspaper that he once suggested to Depp: “’I have a great idea. You and Amber do a remake of The War of the Roses. Who wouldn’t go and see that?’”
According to Cooper, Depp laughed at the idea of reprising the 1989 movie, in which married couple played by Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner battled with each other, although Cooper added that his friend has always tried to dodge the attention his personal life generates: “Johnny is a good guitarist and in a way he would have been happiest doing that, playing side of stage in a band and not having to deal with the level of attention he gets. He just happens to be a really good actor. He has never seen a single one of his movies.” Read more
Michael Jackson sexual abuse lawsuits from Leaving Neverland subjects revived by appeals court (THR)
Lawsuits from two men who accused Michael Jackson of abusing them as children in the HBO documentary Leaving Neverland have been brought back from dismissal.
The 2nd District Court of Appeal on Friday reversed a ruling from a Los Angeles Superior Court judge dismissing the suits from Wade Robson and James Safechuck. They will be able to proceed with claims that a pair of corporations owned by the singer had a legal duty to protect them from sexual abuse Jackson is alleged to have inflicted on them when they were children.
The justices found that it would be “perverse” to find that the corporations should be excused from a responsibility to oversee the safety of the plaintiffs because they’re solely owned by Jackson. Read more
Original Snow White director’s son roasts remake as “insulting” (Fox)
The son of one of the directors of the original Snow White film bashed the upcoming Disney remake of the classic movie as disrespectful and too politically correct.
“I find it quite frankly a bit insulting [what] they may have done with some of these classic films,” David Hand told The Telegraph.
“There’s no respect for what Disney did and what my dad did,” added Hand, who worked as a designer for Disney in the 1990s. “I think Walt and he would be turning in their graves.” Read more
Britney Spears breaks silence on Sam Asghari split (BBC)
Britney Spears has spoken for the first time since her husband Sam Asghari announced their split, saying she “couldn’t take the pain anymore”.
Mr Asghari, 29, cited “irreconcilable differences” in a divorce petition filed in Los Angeles on Wednesday.
He asks that spousal support and payment of legal fees be paid by Ms Spears, the documents state.
Ms Spears, 41, said she was “a little shocked” that her six-year relationship with Mr Asghari had come to an end. Read more
The Nun actor sues Warner Bros. over The Conjuring merchandise profits (NME)
Bonnie Aarons, who plays the demonic nun in The Conjuring film franchise, is suing Warner Bros. over claims the studio is hiding her “rightful share” to merchandise revenue profits.
The actor, who plays Valak in 2016’s The Conjuring 2 and its subsequent spin-off The Nun, filed a complaint against Warner Bros., New Line Cinema and Scope Productions on Tuesday (August 15) in Los Angeles superior court.
In the lawsuit (via The Hollywood Reporter), Aarons alleges she was paid $71,500 for her role in The Nun, along with a $175,000 bonus tied to the film’s box office performance and her share of profits from merchandise featuring her character. The Nun grossed over $365million against a budget of $22million. Read more
Ukraine war: US allows transfer of Danish and Dutch F-16 war planes to Kyiv (BBC)
The US has approved the transfer to Ukraine of American-made F-16 fighter jets from Denmark and the Netherlands when Ukrainian pilots are fully trained to operate them.
“This way, Ukraine can take full advantage of its new capabilities,” a US state department spokesman said.
Ukraine praised the decision it had been pushing hard for since last year. Read more
Saudi Crown Prince meets Iran Foreign Minister as relations thaw (MEMO)
Saudi Arabian Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman, met Iran’s Foreign Minister, Hossein Amirabdollahian, on Friday in the highest-level talks since the countries reconciled in March, after years of bitter rivalry that destabilised the region, Reuters reports.
The unscheduled meeting in Jeddah comes a day after Amirabdollahian arrived in the Kingdom and declared ties between the countries were “on the right track” following talks with his Saudi counterpart, Prince Faisal bin Farhan.
“Discussions were frank, beneficial and productive,” Amirabdollahian said in a social media post after meeting the de facto Saudi ruler, adding that the countries “agree on the security and development of all in the region”. Read more
Amokachi’s son joins Zambian club, NAPSA (Punch)
Nazim, twin son of former Super Eagles forward, Daniel Amokachi has joined Zambia Premier League club, NAPSA Stars
He joined from Nigeria Professional Football League outfit, Lobi Stars.
The 27-year-old signed a two-year contract with his new club this weekend.
“I am very honoured to be part of this beautiful football club,” he told the club’s official website. Read more
FG splashes N200m on Super Falcons (Sun)
The Federal Government of Nigeria gave each player of Super Falcons the sum of Ten thousand dollars $10,000 (equivalent of N200 million for all the 23 players).
First Lady, Senator Remi Tinubu invited the Super Falcons to the Presidential Villa a few days after she did the same to D’Tigress.
Super Falcons defender OsinachI Ohale said the team has never had it so good after each player was rewarded with $10,000 for their exploits at the FIFA Women World Cup in Australia. Read more
Harry Kane makes instant impression scoring on Bundesliga debut for Bayern Munich (Telegraph)
Bayern Munich’s record signing Harry Kane scored once and set up another goal on his Bundesliga debut to steer the champions to a 4-0 victory at Werder Bremen on Friday and a winning start to their league season.
England captain Kane, who joined for a league record £120 million last week to solve Bayern’s scoring problems, slotted their second goal in the 74th minute after setting up Leroy Sane for a fourth-minute opener.
Sane added another in the 90th minute with an easy tap-in and Mathys Tel made it 4-0 in stoppage time. Read more
Luciano Spalletti named Italy boss after Roberto Mancini departure (BBC)
Italy have named former Napoli boss Luciano Spalletti as their new manager following the departure of Roberto Mancini.
Spalletti, 64, left Napoli in the summer after guiding the club to their first Serie A title in 33 years.
He had planned to take a year-long sabbatical but has now decided to make a swift return to football.
Former Manchester City manager Mancini, 58, resigned as Italy boss on 13 August. Read more
Alexander Zverev eyeing rankings breakthrough as he storms into Cincinnati semi-finals (Tennis365)
Alexander Zverev is through to the semi-finals of the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Cincinnati and his run in Ohio has secured him a huge rankings boost.
Zverev was a regular in the top ten of the ATP rankings prior to a serious ankle injury he sustained in his French Open semi-final against Rafael Nadal last year.
That saw the German spend several months away from the game, with his impressive return to form in recent weeks culminating with his winning run in Cincinnati. Read more
Britain’s Alex Yee goes in Seine to win Olympic triathlon test event (RFI)
Britain’s Alex Yee braved the waters of the Seine to win the men’s triathlon test event for the Paris Olympics on Friday, on a course identical to the one set to be used for next year’s event.
As with the women’s test event on Thursday, won by another Briton Beth Potter, the athletes plunged into the Seine for the 1500 metre swim element – only two weeks after the open water swimming test event had been cancelled because the water quality had been ruled to be “below acceptable standards”.
After 40 kilometres on the bicycle, the race concluded with Yee, 25, romping home in the 10k run down the Champs Elysees. Read more