Lagos commissions library, ICT centres in schools (Guardian)
In a bid to boost learning and digital skills in Lagos State schools, Special Assistant to the Governor on Education, Mr. Tokunbo Philip Wahab, in company of the Tutor-General/Permanent Secretary Education District (TGPS), Education District 5, Mrs. Anike Adekanye, has commissioned libraries and ICT centres at Jibowu Junior High School and Onike Girls Junior High School, Yaba.
Tokunbo stressed the need to intervene in areas of information technology where students are lagging behind, noting that the library is equipped with books, computers and a generating set.
“As we wrap up the transition to information technology revolution, we are introducing students to ICT in order to prepare them for the future,” he said. Read more
Gov Sanwo-Olu recommends investment on entrepreneurship for quality education in LASU (Vanguard)
Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State on Thursday called for investment on resources that would guarantee entrepreneurship and provide quality education in the state university.
Sanwo-Olu spoke virtually at the Lagos State University (LASU) 24th Convocation lecture, Award of Directorate Degrees, conferment of Honourary Doctorates and Distinguished Professor Award ceremony on Thursday in Lagos.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Sanwo-Olu also gave scholarship awards and five million naira each to the two best graduating students, Oladimeji Shotunde with CGPA of 4.95 and Olusola Aanu Olabanjo with CGPA of 5.0 respectively. Read more
Lagos moves to bid for green climate fund (Guardian)
The Lagos State government, yesterday, inched towards developing a bid for Green Climate Fund (GCF) by inaugurating a technical advisory committee in that regard.
The Fund is expected to aid in finding lasting and sustainable solutions to the challenges facing the water sector in the state.The state’s Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Mr. Tunji Bello, at the inauguration at Alausa, Ikeja, said the committee would develop a bid for Green Climate Fund (GCF) and is expected to work for six months from the date of inauguration.
Bello said the advisory committee was expected to develop priority projects for investment in water, sanitation, drainage, flood defence and power sectors. Read more
Couple, man arrested for stealing N18m Ogun telecom mast diesel (Punch)
A man, Adeniyi Stephen, and his wife, Adetola Adeyinka, and one Ojo Sulaimon have been caught while allegedly stealing diesel from the mast of a telecommunication firm, Globacom.
The couple and Sulaimon were arrested by operatives of Ogun State Police Command on Wednesday in the Agosasa area of the Ipokia Local Government Area of the state.
The suspects reportedly stole 32,651 litres of diesel valued at N8,162,750m. Read more
FG, ASUU stand-off will soon be resolved, says Fayemi (Punch)
Ekiti State Governor and Chairman, Nigerian Governors’ Forum, Dr Kayode Fayemi, said on Thursday that the resolution of the stand-off between the Federal Government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities, which led to the present strike by lecturers, would happen soon.
Fayemi, who said he had the opportunity to be part of negotiations between the government and ASUU in his capacity as the NGF chairman, said in view of the successes recorded so far, “we are nearer to the resolution of the of the crisis than people think.”
The governor, who spoke during the 24th Convocation of the Ekiti State University, Ado Ekiti, where 11,437 candidates bagged various degrees, appealed to labour leaders in the institution to always embrace peace and give room for dialogue in resolving many of the issues that might come short of their expectations. Read more
Noire Art Unleashes All Female Exhibition in Lekki (Thisday)
Inside Were Studio, Lekki rose yet another girl-power show with the theme, ‘Growth of A Black Female Artist.’ The two-day Noire exhibition and art sales which held on December 11 and 12 was a parade of bustling creative energy from six young female artists using different media. No fewer than 40 art pieces lined the walls with digital paintings, oil on canvas, print, photography collage, mixed media amongst others. The Noire exhibition is an experience founded by black women to encourage the appreciation and understanding of their art, promote the representation of their lives, aspirations, relationships, culture and feelings in art. The featured artists include Donna Duke, Zida Kalu, Blossom Oyeyipo, Pamela Oma, Fiyin Koko and Nneoma Ndukwe. Read more
Omah Lay, Tems thank Nigerians, narrate ordeals (Punch)
Nigerian singers, Omah Lay and Tems have both taken to their Twitter accounts to thank Nigerians for their support while they were arrested in Uganda.
They confirmed that they are safe at home and narrated their ordeals in Uganda after being arrested for flouting COVID-19 guidelines after their performances at The Big Brunch, which held at Speke Resort, Wavamunno Rd, Kampala.
Omah Lay took to his Twitter page to disclose that the past few days have been the toughest of his life, “The past few days have been some of the toughest of my life that I wouldn’t wish them on anyone. Out in a new country with some beautiful people, the next thing I’m being treated like a common thief, on the other hand, I can’t thank you enough, I damned near lost my mind but your prayers and messages kept me going! Thank you so much!” Read more
JAMB rewards four varsities with N375 million (Guardian)
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) yesterday awarded N375 million to four higher institutions across the country for their outstanding performance in the 2019 admission year.
At a brief ceremony in Abuja, each of the winners was given a certificate and N75 million by the examination body. JAMB Registrar, Professor Is-haq Oloyede, appreciated the institutions for their outstanding performance in the previous year, and encouraged other institutions to emulate them.
With 108,917 candidates, University of Ilorin, was rewarded for being the Most-Subscribed university by candidates in the 2019 admission exercise, while it was also adjudged the institution with the highest number (66) of international students. Read more
Tyler Perry opens up about mid-life crisis (BBC)
Prolific filmmaker Tyler Perry has opened up about going-through a “mid-life crisis”.
The 51-year-old comedian has had an eventful couple of years.
He became a billionaire this fall, according to Forbes Magazine, and in 2019, he made the final movie in his Madea franchise.
In a vulnerable social media post, he admitted he was “wondering what the next chapter in my life will look like”. Read more
Teen swallowed by hole while walking down street as ground gives way (Metro)
Shocking CCTV footage shows the moment a teenager was swallowed by a hole on the street as the ground suddenly gave way beneath her. Paramedics raced to the scene as Laura Vilarinho, 19, lay motionless on her side in the hole in Minas Gerais State, Brazil on Wednesday. The law student suffered a torn ligament to her left elbow in the incident which happened in Uberlandia. Read more
US FDA approves Moderna vaccine for emergency basis: report (AlJazeera)
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has decided on to approve Moderna Inc’s coronavirus vaccine on an emergency basis, the Financial Times reported, citing people close to the process.
The report comes after the FDA said it informed Moderna that it would rapidly work towards the finalisation and issuance of emergency use authorisation (EUA) for its COVID-19 vaccine candidate, according to commissioner Stephen Hahn.
Earlier on Thursday, a panel of outside advisers to the FDA overwhelmingly endorsed Moderna Inc’s COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use.
The committee voted 20-0 with one abstention in favour of the vaccine, saying its benefits outweigh any potential risks in people aged 18 and older. Read more
Staffers quit Tom Cruise’s ‘Mission Impossible’ movie project after star goes full-on Karen with second COVID rant – report (RT)
Actor Tom Cruise has reportedly erupted for a second time over Covid-19 social-distancing breaches on the set of his latest “Mission Impossible” movie project in Europe, prompting five staffers to quit the production.
The second meltdown came on Tuesday night, after news broke of an earlier on-set rant by Cruise that was caught on tape, the Sun newspaper reported, citing an unidentified person involved in the movie. The 58-year-old actor stars in the film, which is the seventh installment of “Mission Impossible,” and is one of its producers.
“The first outburst was big, but things haven’t calmed since,” the person said. Read more
India expects to ‘begin Covid-19 vaccination in January’ (BBC)
India expects to begin vaccinating people against Covid-19 in January, federal health officials told the BBC.
The officials – who requested anonymity – said a few vaccine candidates were likely to get emergency-use authorisation from the drug regulator in the “next few weeks”.
Two companies have already applied for consideration, and six more are in various stages of clinical trials. Read more
China brings moon rocks to Earth for first time in 45 years (Metro)
China’s Chang’e 5 spacecraft has brought back lunar rocks to Earth, the first sample of moon material since 1976. Spending just two days on the moon’s -173°C surface, from the 1st to 3rd of December, the Chinese mission collected about two kilograms of moon rock. Yesterday, a section of the spacecraft carrying the sample touched down in Inner Mongolia, just after 01:30 local time on Thursday. Read more
Deb Haaland: Historic Native American ‘pick for Biden cabinet’ (BBC)
President-elect Joe Biden will nominate a Native American to serve as his interior secretary, leading the agency governing public lands, US media say.
If confirmed, Congresswoman Deb Haaland will be the first indigenous person to lead the department, which also plays a key role in Native American affairs.
She will also be the first Native American in a cabinet secretary role. Read more
NFF paid us 50% of FIFA palliative – Wolves boss (Punch)
Chairman of Warri Wolves, Moses Etu, has said the Nigeria Football Federation only paid Nigeria Professional Football League clubs 50 per cent of the COVID-19 palliatives sent by football governing body FIFA.
Etu confirmed the receipt of N2.5m sent to each club by the NFF to our correspondent on Thursday.
“We were paid 50 per cent of the total money, as we were meant to be paid over N5m. We were told last week that 50 per cent will be paid and that was what they sent. When we get to the congress next week, we will ask when the other 50 per cent will come. The NFF told us they were not paid the full money by FIFA,” Etu told The PUNCH. Read more
Wayne Rooney’s son Kai signs for Manchester United (BBC)
Wayne Rooney’s son is following in his father’s footsteps by signing for Manchester United.
Kai, 11, was pictured alongside his dad and mum Colleen putting pen to paper on a contract at the Old Trafford club.
Wayne – who played for United from 2004 until 2017 – wrote on Instagram: “Proud day. Kai signing for Man Utd. Keep up the hard work son.”
Kai was also pictured holding up a United shirt with the number 10 on the back – the same number his dad wore.
Former England international Wayne is United’s all-time leading scorer with 253 goals from 559 appearances. Read more
Arsenal look set to complete first January deal as defender Omar Rekik touches down in London (Metro)
Arsenal appear to be on the verge of finally wrapping up a deal for Hertha Berlin centre-back Omar Rekik after the teenage defender jetted in to London on Thursday. The Gunners agreed a £900,000 fee with the Bundesliga side on deadline day of the summer transfer window, with the negotiations part of Matteo Geundouzi’s loan move to the German capital. However, Arsenal ran out of time to rubberstamp the deal and Rekik remained with Hertha, though there was always an expectation that the deal would be completed in January. Read more
Rashford double as Man Utd come from behind to beat Sheffield Utd (BBC)
Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said his side played “brilliant football” as they moved to sixth in the Premier League with a comeback victory over bottom club Sheffield United.
Marcus Rashford’s double ensured the visitors maintained their perfect away record in the Premier League this season but it came after a horror start and a late scare.
Goalkeeper Dean Henderson, playing against his former club, gifted the Blades an opener after five minutes when forward Oliver Burke blocked his clearance, allowing David McGoldrick to tap in. Read more
Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury could ditch all world titles to make fight happen, says Eddie Hearn (Metro)
Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury could resort to dropping all of their world title belts to make the super fight happen between the heavyweights next year, says AJ’s promoter Eddie Hearn. Joshua and Fury hold all the gold in the heavyweight division between them and are set on course for a huge unification bout in 2021 to crown an undisputed champion. However, the WBO look likely to throw a spanner in the works of the undisputed dream by enforcing that their mandatory challenger gets the next shot at the belt. Read more
Lewandowski wins FIFA best men’s player award (BBC)
Lewandowski won the best men’s player at the Best Fifa Football Awards in Zurich, beating last year’s winner Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo to the top prize.
The Poland striker scored 55 goals in just 47 games last season as he helped German giants Bayern to a treble.
Lewandowski, 32, finished as the top scorer in the league, cup and Champions League.
Manchester City defender Lucy Bronze won the best women’s player award.
The winners were decided by nominations from national team captains and head coaches, an online ballot of fans and 200 media representatives. Read more
American MMA fighter ‘refuses to participate in Russian tournament due to US sanctions’ (RT)
US MMA fighter Brett Cooper from the Absolute Championship Akhmat (ACA) promotion has reportedly withdrawn from a major tournament in Moscow because of sanctions imposed by the US and UK.
The welterweight fighter was set to face Beslan Isaev on December 18, and even made weight before the bout, before deciding to pull out of the tournament.
The ACA promotion, which has headquarters in Grozny, Chechen Republic, has been backlisted by the US along with other Chechen sports organizations. Read more