Jubilant Tinubu makes 1st visit to Lagos after inauguration (Vanguard)
President Bola Tinubu has expressed his profound gratitude to Nigerians for the overwhelming reception accorded him in Lagos on Tuesday, conveying his best wishes to all Nigerians during the Eid-el-Kabir celebrations.
The President received a tumultuous welcome from a massive crowd of Nigerians upon his return to Lagos, following his seven-day trip abroad.
Recall that President Tinubu had last week, travelled to Paris, France to attend the summit on ”A New Global Financing Pact” and had also made a brief private visit to London, United Kingdom. Read more
Sallah: Katsina gov rejects 100 rams gift from philanthropist (Guardian)
Governor Dikko Radda of Katsina State has reportedly rejected 100 rams from a philanthropist in the state.
His Niger State counterpart, Mohammed Bago, urged Muslims to imbibe the virtues of love, obedience and sacrifice as exemplified by Prophet Ibrahim.
The Guardian gathered that the rams were presented to Radda, yesterday, ahead of today’s Sallah celebration, but he turned down the offer. Read more
Hoodlums beat Naval officer to death in Ondo (Leadership)
Hoodlums have beaten a Naval officer, simply identified as Akingbohun M., to death in Imeri, Ose local government area of Ondo State following a minor disagreement.
The deceased, who was attached to the Navy Secondary School, Imeri, was said to have been beaten to death by a six-man mob in the ancient community.
LEADERSHIP gathered that the incident happened on Monday at Idoani and it was reported to the nearby Police Division by a friend of the deceased, Sunday Olaoluwa. Read more
Akpabio, Gov Nwifuru, Ebonyi First Lady felicitate Muslim faithful on Eid-el-Kabir celebration (Tribune)
The President of the Senate Godswill Akpabio has called on Nigerians to be patient and support the administration of President Bola Tinubu.
Senator Akpabio made the call in his 2023 Eid-el-Kabir message to Nigeria.
“I most happily join Nigerians, particularly the Muslim Ummah, in celebrating this year’s Sallah festival.
“I especially rejoice with our dear President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as he celebrates the first Eid-el-Kabir as President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Read more
EU: 2023 elections lacked transparency, trust in INEC severely damaged (DailyTrust)
The 2023 general elections did not ensure a well-run transparent, and inclusive democratic process as assured by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the European Union Election Observation Mission (EU EOM) has said.
The EU EOM noted that shortcomings in the law and electoral administration hindered the conduct of well-run and inclusive elections and damaged trust in INEC.
In its final report released on Tuesday in Abuja, the EU EOM said public confidence and trust in INEC were severely damaged during the presidential poll and were not restored in state-level elections, leading civil society to call for an independent audit of the entire process. Read more
Don’t sell rams by roadside, Lagos warns (Punch)
The Lagos State Government, on Tuesday, warned traders in the state against indiscriminate display of rams, cows and other items for sale during Sallah celebrations.
The government also urged residents to align with the sanitation agenda of the present administration by celebrating Sallah hygienically.
In a statement on Tuesday, the Permanent Secretary, Office of Environmental Services, Mr Gaji Omobolaji, urged Lagosians to build on the sanitation gains already recorded across the state. Read more
UK-funded programme launches website to track Kano Governor’s performance (DailyTrust)
A United Kingdom-funded programme, Partnership to Engage, Reform and Learn (PERL) has teamed up with civil society organizations in Kano state to launch a website to be used for the tracking of Kano state governor’s performance against his campaign promises.
Speaking during the launch of the website, the State Team Lead of PERL in Kano, Isah Tijjani explained that the tracker is a citizen-oriented initiative that would track and monitor the implementation of the 14 commitments of the present administration led by Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf as contained in his blueprint during the election campaign.
He said the tracker, which can be accessed via www.kanotracker.org, would ensure the effective distribution of democratic dividends to the people, especially the grassroots. Read more
Economy: Nigeria gateway to Africa – South Korean President (Sun)
The President of the Republic of Korea, Yoon Suk Yeol, has said that Nigeria is the gateway to Africa as far as the continent’s economy is concerned.
Yeol stated this through his Special Envoy to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Jang Sungmin, in Abuja.
Briefing journalists, Sungmin said President Yoon Suk Yeol who came to power last year has a special place in his heart for Africa. Read more
Nicole Scherzinger announces engagement to boyfriend Thom Evans (DigitalSpy)
The Masked Singer judge Nicole Scherzinger has announced her engagement to ex-rugby player boyfriend Thom Evans.
Taking to Instagram, Scherzinger shared sweet pictures from the event. She captioned the post: “I said yes”.
In one photo, Evans — who has been dating the Pussycat Dolls singer since 2020 — can be seen kneeling and brandishing a ring box as Scherzinger covers her face in shock. Read more
Margot Robbie channels “Barbie” at photo call for new movie with Ryan Gosling and Greta Gerwig (People)
Margot Robbie is stepping into character!
The actress, 32, was a vision in pink — and polka dots! — as she attended a Barbie photo call with co star Ryan Gosling and the movie’s writer/director, Greta Gerwig, in Los Angeles on Sunday.
Robbie rocked a chic outfit, seemingly borrowed from her character Barbie’s closet, as she wore a popping pink cut-out mini dress with polka dots by Valentino, teamed with a pair of white Manolo Blahnik court heels. Read more
Julian Sands: Human remains found in California mountains confirmed to be those of British actor (Sky)
Human remains found in a California mountain area are those of British actor Julian Sands, the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department has confirmed.
It is more than five months since the 65-year-old was reported missing in the Mount Baldy region of the San Gabriel mountains.
Hikers found the remains on Saturday morning, with a coroner now positively identifying them as belonging to Sands. Read more
”Superman” finds its new Clark Kent, Lois Lane in David Corenswet, Rachel Brosnahan (USAToday)
James Gunn has found his new Superman and Lois Lane in David Corenswet and Rachel Brosnahan.
The DC Studios co-chair, who is also writing and directing “Superman: Legacy ” for July 2025, tweeted about the casting Tuesday, which a representative from Warner Bros. also confirmed.
There has been much speculation over who would fill Superman’s shoes after Henry Cavill’s decade playing the character on the big screen. Corenswet reportedly won the role over the likes of Nicholas Hoult and Tom Brittney. The 29-year-old Philadelphia native starred in Ryan Murphy’s Netflix series The Politician and Hollywood, as an aspiring actor, and more recently played a theater owner who gets mixed up with Mia Goth’s aspiring actress in Ti West’s Pearl. Read more
Adam Sandler’s real-life daughters will star in his upcoming Netflix movie (DailyStar)
Comedy king Adam Sandler has paid a heartfelt tribute to his wife as the couple’s daughters are set to appear in his latest Netflix release.
Sadie and Sunny Sandler, 17 and 14 respectively, according to Collider, are to star in “You Are So Not Invited” to My Bat Mitzvah, alongside their dad, 56, and their mum Jackie Sandler, 48.
The film is expected to hit the streaming platform on August 26, with the production based on the novel of the same name and follows 13-year-old Stacy Friedman as she plans her bat mitzvah until drama with her best friend Lydia threatens to derail the most important day of her life. Read more
Josh Gad offers update on Honey, I Shrunk the Kids reboot (FilmNews)
Josh Gad has given fans an update on the development of the Honey, I Shrunk the Kids reboot.
It was announced back in 2020 that Rick Moranis would reprise his role as inventor Wayne Szalinski alongside Gad as the adult version of his son Nick in a reboot titled Shrunk.
On Monday, the Frozen actor revealed that the film’s development has suffered a number of setbacks. Read more
Belarus leader welcomes Wagner boss Prigozhin into exile (BBC)
The leader of Russia’s 24-hour mutiny, Yevgeny Prigozhin, has arrived in Belarus, three days after his Wagner mercenary group’s rebellion came to an end 200km (125 miles) south of Moscow.
“Yes, indeed, he’s in Belarus today,” leader Alexander Lukashenko announced, claiming credit for arranging his exile.
Prigozhin’s whereabouts had been a mystery since he was filmed driving off in southern Russia on Saturday night. Read more
Former Golden Eaglet, Amoo, not jailed by Danish court, says agent (Guardian)
Nigerian striker Akinkunmi Amoo who plays for FC Copenhagen faces sexual assault charges in Denmark.
Representatives of former national U-17 football team, Golden Eaglets, midfielder, Akinkunmi Amoo, UDE Sports Management Agency, have denied reports that their player has been jailed by a Danish court following conviction for indecent assault, attempted rape and rape in a sexual relationship other than intercourse.
Last weekend, a Danish court sentenced a player, whose name was withheld to one-year imprisonment with deportation from Denmark and a ban from entering the country for six years to follow.
The court did not mention the name of the player. But some Nigerian media outlets reported that the culprit is Amoo, who plays for Danish outfit, FC Copenhagen. Read more
Obioma wins Eunisell Boot as 2022/23 NPFL Top Scorer (Sun)
Eunisell Limited, sponsor of the prestigious Eunisell Boot for the highest goal scorer in the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) has announced Enyimba’s Chukwuemeka Obioma as winner of the award.
Obioma scored 16 goals to emerge as highest goal scorer in the just concluded 2022/23 Nigeria Premier League season and will receive N3.2 million as well as the imposing Eunisell Boot.
Eunisell, West Africa’s largest independent chemical as well as oil and gas engineering solutions company, conceived the Eunisell Boot Award to instill greatness in players in the domestic top flight and celebrate their success story. Read more
Declan Rice: Arsenal submit huge £105m offer in bid to end Man City transfer fight (Standard)
Arsenal have made a third and improved bid for West Ham captain Declan Rice that is worth £105 million.
The offer comprises an initial fee of £100m and a further £5m in add-ons, which would make Rice the most expensive British player in history.
The record was previously held by Gareth Bale, who left Tottenham for Real Madrid for £85m in 2013, until Jude Bellingham moved to the Bernabeu from Borussia Dortmund for an initial £88.5m earlier this month. Read more
Marta: Brazil name forward in squad for sixth Women’s World Cup (BBC)
Brazil forward Marta is set to play in a sixth World Cup after being named in her country’s squad for the women’s tournament this summer.
The 37-year-old is a six-time winner of the Fifa World Player of the Year award.
She also holds the record for the most goals in World Cup tournaments – men’s or women’s – with 17. Read more
Former No.4 Nishikori to end long ATP Tour layoff in Atlanta (France24)
Japan’s Kei Nishikori, a former world number four and the 2014 US Open runner-up, will return to ATP Tour competition at next month’s Atlanta Open, tournament officials said Tuesday.
The 33-year-old, a 12-time ATP winner and 2016 Rio Olympic bronze medalist, has not played since undergoing surgery last year on his left hip.
His most recent ATP start was at Indian Wells in October 2021. His most recent title came in January 2019 at Brisbane. Read more
Sacramento Kings’ Jordi Fernandez to replace Nick Nurse as Canada’s head coach (CBC)
2019 NBA Champion Nick Nurse has stepped away from his head coach position with the Canadian men’s basketball team, which already secured a new manager ahead of August’s FIBA World Cup.
Jordi Fernandez, an associate head coach with the Sacramento Kings, will lead the Canadian men in their pursuit of an Olympic berth in Paris 2024. An official announcement is expected on Wednesday, according to The Canadian Press.
The Spaniard will take over for the former Raptors coach, who signed with the Philadelphia 76ers in June. Read more