Lagos to prosecute artisans found on unapproved building sites (Guardian)
Lagos State Government, yesterday, said it will begin prosecution of artisans found on unapproved building sites as provided in its building control laws.
General Manager of Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA), Arc. Gbolahan Owoduni Oki, who disclosed this in Ikeja, at Day Two of the agency in-house training, said the move was aimed at tackling incessant building collapse in the state.
The training was themed: “Repositioning LASBCA for better service delivery.”
He stressed the need for bricklayers, plumbers, welders and carpenters to abide by the dictates of the building law and ensure that building collapse is a thing of the past in Lagos.
Oki urged all stakeholders to work for the quality of construction in the built environment. Read more
With Obasa, Lagos will remain an excellent place, says Tinubu (Vanguard)
Presidential Candidate of the All Progressives Congress APC, Asíwájú Bola Tinubu, has described the Lagos State House of Assembly Speaker Mudasiru Obasa as a progressive and grassroots politician with whom he has jointly fought and won many political battles.
A statement from the Tinubu Media Office, signed by Tunde Rahman said the APC candidate made the disclosure in a congratulatory message to the Lagos speaker on the occasion of his 50th birthday.
Tinubu said Obasa who hits the Golden Age on Friday has contributed a lot to Lagos state and that with people like him, Lagos would remain an excellent place.
He said; “Lagos, and indeed Nigeria, will remain an excellent place with people like Speaker Mudasiru Obasa in public office. Read more
People with disabilities present charter of demands to Lagos government (Independent)
The Joint National Association Of Persons With Disabilities (JONAPWD), Lagos State Chapter, has called out the Babajide Sanwo-Olu-led Lagos State Government to pay more welfarist attention to issues affecting their members such that they too will have more sense of belonging in societal citizenship.
The group of special citizens made the passionate call out on Thursday while presenting what it tagged a Charter of Demands in a One-Day Public Presentation/ Media Parley at the International Press Centre, Ogba, Lagos.
Leading the JONAPWD group was its Chairman, Dr Adebukola Adebayo, a virtually impaired, brilliant and articulate man who marshalled out the array of cogent demands envisioned to ameliorate the plight of the association.
According to Adebayo, the current administration in Lagos State has not been responsive enough to the plight of the members who are still largely being discriminated against in a lot of areas such as transportation, employment logistic facility as in the safety of members who have to work around for the normal human survival effort as done by their other normal fellow citizens. Read more
Tinubu’s $460,000 US tax: APC, PDP campaigns trade words (Vanguard)
The All Progressives Congress, APC, and Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Presidential Campaign Councils, PCCs, were at each other’s jugular yesterday, over the $460,000 deducted from the accounts of the APC Presidential flagbearer, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, in the United States of America, U.S.
The Chief Spokesman of the Tinubu-Shettima Presidential Campaign Council, Mr. Festus Keyamo said that the $460,000 was tax deducted from one of the 10 accounts linked to Tinubu and pooh-poohed the documents he attributed to the PDP, which are circulating in the social media, which accused Tinubu of drug deals while he lived in the US.
However, the PDP insisted that Tinubu has a lot of explanations to do and dismissed what it described as Keyamo’s “spirited attempts” to deflect attention from his principal’s questionable past.
$460,000 deducted was for tax. Read more
Lagos, Port Harcourt likely to witness ‘weather catastrophe’ – FG (Punch)
The Federal Government on Thursday said a report by the inter-governmental panel on climate change revealed that many coastal mega cities including Lagos, Port Harcourt and others, would witness weather catastrophe by 2050.
It, however, stated that it was taking steps to mitigate this through the provision of information on future actions required by cities that are projected to be affected by the climate change effects.
The Minister of Environment, Mohammed Abdullahi, disclosed this during a side event on “Scaling up Climate Change Adaptation in Nigeria”, organised by the Federal Ministry Environment in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, at the ongoing COP27 event in Egypt.
This minister’s remarks were contained in a statement that was made available to our correspondent by the FME in Abuja on Thursday. Read more
20 persons roasted, 30 vehicles burnt in Kogi tanker explosion (Guardian)
At least 20 persons have reportedly been roasted and over 30 vehicles burnt in a petrol tanker accident near Ochadamu junction in Ofu Local Council of Kogi State, yesterday.
According to a witness, most of the dead were burnt beyond recognition.
He said: “I learnt that the accident was caused by a disagreement between security operatives and tanker drivers at a checkpoint. Security personnel allegedly shot two tanker drivers. Their colleagues, in anger, used a tanker loaded with petrol to barricade the highway leading to Idah.
“People gathered and pleaded with the tanker drivers to remove the vehicle from the road, but they refused. Suddenly, a truck carrying coal ran into the petrol tanker causing it to explode. An inferno engulfed the scene, killing scores of people and injuring many others.” Read more
Get ready for your swearing in, Adamu tells Tinubu (Sun)
Chairman, All Progressives Congress (APC), Abdullahi Adamu, has told Bola Tinubu to get ready to be sworn in as Nigeria’s president next year.
He stated this, on Thursday, at a town hall meeting between the APC candidate and stakeholders in the mining sector in Lafia, Nasarawa State.
The APC chairman said his charge for Tinubu to be prepared for his swearing in was a re-echo of the stance of President Muhamamdu Buhari.
“Except God, President Buhari is the highest authority in Nigeria today. Buhari has said it and it shall come to pass.” Read more
Reps to reintroduce Diaspora Voting Bill (DailyTrust)
The House of Representatives Committee on Diaspora yesterday promised to reintroduce the diaspora voting bill to accommodate Nigerians living abroad.
Chairman of the committee, Tolulope Shadipe, said this when the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Nigerians in the Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM), Abike Dabiri-Erewa, appeared before the committee for the defence of the agency’s 2023 budget.
Daily Trust reports that the bill was rejected by lawmakers during the constitution amendment exercise.
But Shadipe expressed hope that the diaspora voting bill would pass this time, saying it was the direction the world was going and that Nigeria must not be left behind. Read more
Nicki Minaj gives update on her new album (HipHopDX)
Nicki Minaj has given fans a much-needed update on her forthcoming fifth studio album, which she’s been teasing for a while.
Speaking to City Girls rapper JT for i-D, the leader of the Barbz revealed her next album will go back to her Hip Hop roots. According to Nicki, she’s in a very good place now and believes being in that mindset puts her in a position to put out her best music.
“I feel like whenever I’m happy, I deliver the best music,” Nicki said before hinting at what’s to come on the new project. “And in order for me to deliver the best music for my album – which is coming out soon – I have to tap back into the essence of Hip Hop.”
Elsewhere in the conversation, Nicki hinted her fifth studio album is on her priority list, giving fans hope it can be released sometime soon. Her last solo effort came with 2018’s Queen, which debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 with 185,000 album-equivalent units, of which 78,000 came from pure album sales. Read more
Pussy Riot’s Masha Alyokhina shares her love of the Spice Girls (Metro)
They’re one of the most famous, most radical political groups in the world.
Famous for defying Putin and the Russian Orthodox Church, for doing heavy prison time for their protests, for death-defying escapes across borders in times of war, for books and shows so inspiring even The Handmaid’s Tale writer Margaret Atwood gave them two thumbs up… so it’s funny when you ask the woman at the centre of Pussy Riot, Maria Alyokhina, about her inspiration and she says: ‘Spice Girls’.
‘The collective was influenced from the beginning by the Riot Grrrl movement and bands like Bikini Kill,’ says Maria – known as Masha – from deep in a basement dressing room in Brighton with noise from a nearby stage almost drowning her out.
‘But when I was, let’s say 12 or 13,’ she goes on, ‘I was listening to the Spice Girls.’ But don’t expect any Wannabe flavours to be obvious in Riot Days, the show Masha and Pussy Riot are in Glasgow to perform this week. ‘It’s a mix of music and video art and documentary from our street actions and also unpredictable things,’ says Masha. Read more
John Wick: Chapter 4’s new trailer gives first look at Rina Sawayama’s debut movie role (DigitalSpy)
John Wick: Chapter 4’s new trailer gives fans a first look at popstar Rina Sawayama in her debut movie role.
The Japanese-British singer stars in the fourth John Wick instalment as Akira, and she can be seen in one of the trailer’s many fight sequences wielding a sword against a masked assailant.
While she does have previous acting experience in Idris Elba’s Netflix comedy series Turn Up Charlie, the action-thriller sequel marks Sawayama’s first time on the big screen.
The action-packed trailer also provides a first look at It’s Bill Skarsgård as Marquis and Dexter: New Blood’s Clancy Brown in a yet-to-be disclosed role. Read more
Top Gun copyright lawsuits survives Paramount’s motion to dismiss (Variety)
A copyright lawsuit over Top Gun: Maverick will continue, after a judge on Thursday denied Paramount’s motion to throw out the case.
US District Judge Percy Anderson held that there are enough similarities between the film and the 1983 magazine article upon which the original “Top Gun” was based to allow the author’s heirs to pursue the lawsuit.
The widow and son of author Ehud Yonay filed the case in June, arguing that the studio had never bothered to renew the rights to the article about the Navy Fighter Weapons School, which ran in California magazine. Paramount countered that it did not need the rights, because the sequel bore little resemblance to the article and because facts about the school are not subject to copyright protection.
“Plaintiffs do not have a monopoly over works about ‘Top Gun,’” Paramount’s lawyers argued. Read more
Lionel Richie says his 1st country album is ”Coming” after decades of songwriting in the genre (People)
Hello country music — is it Lionel Richie you’re looking for?
At last night’s 2022 CMA Awards in Nashville, the legendary singer-songwriter announced plans to craft and release his first-ever country album — decades after scoring his first hit in the genre with Kenny Rogers’ “Lady,” written by Richie, 73.
“The answer is soon. It has to be soon, because later is not in the option right now,” the former Commodores member told Billboard on the red carpet. “I am so vested in country music, you have no idea.” Read more
Rivalry spills open as Trump lashes out at DeSantis (BBC)
Rivalry between Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis has spilt open after the Republican ex-president came swinging out against his one-time acolyte on Thursday night.
Mr Trump belittled the Florida governor as an “average” politician whose success was owed to his patronage.
Mr DeSantis, 44, stormed to re-election in Tuesday’s midterms, making him the Republicans’ biggest rising star and a clear challenger to Mr Trump.
The ex-president warned him against it.
In a lengthy statement, Mr Trump dismissed Mr DeSantis as a political lightweight who had come to him “in desperate shape” when running for his first term in office in 2017. Read more
Taliban bans women from Afghanistan parks and gyms in latest crackdown (ABC)
The Taliban has prohibited women from going to parks and gyms in Afghanistan in the religious group’s latest edict cracking down on women’s rights and freedoms.
The Taliban overran the country last year, seizing power in August 2021.
It has banned girls from middle school and high school, despite initial promises to the contrary, restricted women from most fields of employment, and ordered them to wear head-to-toe clothing in public.
A spokesman from the Ministry of Virtue and Vice said the ban was being introduced because people were ignoring gender segregation orders and that women were not wearing the required headscarf, or hijab. Read more
3 feared dead as Asaba stadium collapses (Sun)
Three persons are feared dead at the moment as the multiple sports complex at the Stephen Keshi Stadium in Asaba, Delta State, collapsed this morning.
Scores of others were injured and were rushed to the hospital.
Among the dead, our correspondent learnt were construction workers at the site of the building.
The two-storey building is under construction in preparation for the 21st National Sports Festival (NSF) to be hosted at the stadium from November 28, this year. Read more
Delta dismisses Asaba stadium death reports as work resumes on facility (Guardian)
Delta State government, yesterday, said no life was lost on the accident, which occurred at the construction site of the indoor sports complex of the Stephen Keshi Stadium Asaba.
State Commissioner for Information, Mr Charles Aniagwu, who is also the Chairman, Media Committee of the Local Organising Committee (LOC) for Delta 2022 National Sports Festival, said in a life video at the venue of the incident that reports making the rounds of substandard materials as cause of the accident were untrue.
He said the accident was caused by misalignment of a crane by its operator, which led to the heavy duty equipment crashing onto the wall in one of the floors.
According to him, contrary to reports of loss of lives, only one person sustained minor injury and has since been treated, while other workers have also returned to site. Read more
Ex-NFF chief Adamu involved in £1.3m bribery scandal – Report (Punch)
Nigeria’s former football official, Amos Adamu, was allegedly offered £1.3m to back the Qatar 2022 bid, The PUNCH reports.
Adamu in 2017 was banned for two years by the world governing body FIFA for ethics violations.
The suspension came after he already served a three-year ban in 2010 for accepting bribes in relation to the attribution of the 2018 World Cup to Russia and the 2022 tournament to Qatar.
A member of Qatar’s World Cup bid Phaedra Almajid made the allegations in the explosive new Netflix series, FIFA Uncovered on Thursday. Read more
Qatar World Cup: FIFA rejects Denmark request to wear pro-human rights training shirts (ESPN)
The Danish Football Association (DBU) said on Thursday that FIFA had rejected Denmark’s request to train at the World Cup in shirts with the words “human rights for all” on them.
The DBU said in 2021 that their two training kit sponsors would make way for messages critical of Qatar while also minimising the number of trips to the country to avoid commercial activities promoting the World Cup hosts’ events.
Qatar has come under intense pressure over its treatment of foreign workers and restrictive social laws, leading many participating teams to raise concerns. The country has denied claims that workers were exploited.
“We have today got a message from FIFA that the training shirts our players were to train in, where it would say ‘human rights for all’ at the stomach [of the shirt], have been rejected due to technical reasons, which is regrettable,” DBU chief executive Jakob Jensen told Ritzau news agency. Read more
Nathan Jones: Southampton appoint Luton boss as new manager (BBC)
Southampton have confirmed the appointment of Nathan Jones as their new manager following the sacking of Ralph Hasenhuttl.
Welshman Jones, 49, has left Championship side Luton Town to take up the role and has signed a three-and-a-half-year contract.
Hasenhuttl, who was in charge for nearly four years, was sacked on Monday after Sunday’s 4-1 defeat by Newcastle.
“I’m really proud to be given this opportunity,” said Jones. Read more
Britain clinch stunning Billie Jean King Cup victory over Spain to reach semi-finals (Tennis365)
Great Britain captain Anne Keothavong was left pinching herself in disbelief after watching her players pull off a remarkable 3-0 victory over Spain in Glasgow to reach the semi-finals of the Billie Jean King Cup for the first time in 41 years.
Knowing following defeat by Kazakhstan on Tuesday that only a whitewash of the five-time champions would be good enough, Britain went into the tie at the Emirates Arena with seemingly little chance.
But Heather Watson and Harriet Dart overcame much higher-ranked opponents – the latter in tears after stunning 13th-ranked Paula Badosa – and rookies Alicia Barnett and Olivia Nicholls shrugged off the pressure of a winner-takes-all doubles rubber to defeat Aliona Bolsova and Rebeka Masarova.
The pair were late call-ups following Emma Raducanu’s withdrawal and had not been in anything remotely like this situation before but again played superbly to clinch a 7-6 (5) 6-2 victory. Read more