Lagos to shut 3rd Mainland Bridge for 2 consecutive Sundays (Vanguard)
The Lagos State Government, through state Public Works Corporation, LPWC, in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing, has concluded plans to embark on palliative works on the failed sections of the Third Mainland Bridge for two consecutive Sundays.
The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of transportation, Engr. Abdulhafiz Toriola, who announced this on Thursday, added that the work would take place on Sunday 17 and Sunday 24, September, 2023, between the hours of 7.00 am to 7.00 pm, each Sunday.
According to him, “The proposed works will be strictly executed in two phases with phase one focusing on only the most critical sections on the Iyana Oworonshoki inward Adeniji Adele/Lagos Island.” Read more
Soun makes first public appearance (Sun)
The town of Ogbomoso in Oyo State was electrified with joy, yesterday, as eminent personalities and thousands of indigenes welcomed the newly installed Soun of Ogbomosoland, Oba Afolabi Ghandi Olaoye, after he emerged from a seven-day seclusion.
The monarch made a public appearance, arriving at Ogbomoso High School amid cheers from thousands of indigenes and eminent personalities alike.
The Soun, who was installed on September 8, arrived at the school around 10a.m., and made his way to the palace, with the convoy led by traditional drummers and hunters. The mood was festive, with chants of ‘Kabiesi’ filling the air. Read more
Police to investigate Mohbad’s death (Guardian)
The Nigerian Police Force (NPF) has said that it will carry out a diligent investigation into the cause of the death of the late musician, Ilerioluwa Oladimeji Aloba popularly known as Mohbad.
The Police revealed this on Thursday in a statement on X (formerly Twitter) while it also extended its deepest condolences to the family, friends and fans of Mohbad who tragically passed away on Tuesday, September 12, 2023.
“We understand the concerns surrounding his untimely demise and the various speculations that have arisen,” the police said. Read more
Tinubu appoints Adedeji as FIRS Chairman (Channels)
President Bola Tinubu has appointed his Special Adviser on Revenue, Zacch Adedeji, as the new Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS).
This was contained in a Thursday statement by the Special Adviser to the President, Ajuri Ngelale, saying the erstwhile FIRS Chairman, Muhammad Nami, has been directed to proceed on three months of pre-retirement leave.
The directive, Ngelale stated, is in line with the provisions of Public Service Rule (PSR) 120243. Read more
FG makes u-turn, says no timeframe on resumption of Emirate flights (DailyTrust)
The Federal Government, on Thursday, said there was no timeframe for resumption of Emirates and Etihad flights that were put on hold amid the diplomatic row between Nigeria and the United Arabs Emirates (UAE).
After a meeting between President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and his United Arab Emirates counterpart, Sheik Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, on Monday in Abu Dhabi, Ajuri Ngelale, Presidential spokesman, had said both leaders reached a historic agreement, which resulted in the immediate cessation of the visa ban placed on Nigerian travelers.
He added that both Etihad Airlines and Emirates Airlines were to immediately resume flight schedules into and out of Nigeria, “without any further delay”.
But the UAE authorities were silent on the visa ban lift and resumption of flights by its airlines, sparking curiosity among Nigerians. Read more
2 weeks after N180b palliatives, hardship persists in states (Leadership)
All is not well across the country with the distribution of palliatives meant to cushion the hardship brought on Nigerians by the federal government’s removal of fuel subsidy.While some state governments had already gone ahead with the distribution of mostly food items to mostly vulnerable Nigerians, others are still at the planning stage.
A few state governors have taken a further step to acquire fleets of vehicles to provide free transportation, but the scheme covers only few routes and the services are inadequate.
Also, for states that added monthly financial succour in the range of N5,000 and N10,000, the beneficiaries are largely civil servants, and the sums are too small to make an impact
In some states, as many as seven residents are paired to share a bag of rice distributed at the ward levels, with beneficiaries saying it is too small to make an impact on their situation. Read more
INEC deploys 40,000 staff for November elections (Punch)
No fewer than 40,000 ad hoc staff would be deployed by the Independent National Electoral Commission for the November 11, 2023 governorship polls in Imo, Bayelsa and Kogi states, The PUNCH gathered on Thursday.
The tenure of the incumbent Governor of Imo State will end on January 14, 2024, while those of Kogi and Bayelsa states end on January 26, 2024, and February 13, 2024, respectively.
In 2019, the commission deployed about 24,000 ad hoc staff for the Kogi and Bayelsa governorship elections on November 16. Read more
Federal Roads: Umahi announces availability of N431bn for dualisation (Tribune)
Minister of Works, Sen. David Umahi, has announced the availability of N431bn meant for the dualization of federal roads across the country.
Umahi noted that the renewed hope agenda which he came to implement in Nigeria roads through the Federal Ministry of Works inherited 18,000km of roads worth N14trn.
Umahi said this at the ministry headquarters when he met with contractors working on road dualization in the country a statement signed by the Director of Information, Federal Ministry of Works, Blessing Lere-Adams said. Read more
CNG berates Lekwot over comments on IBB (Nation)
The Coalition of Northern Groups (CNG) has warned Zamani Lekwot over his recent attempt to smear former military president, Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, in his role in the Zangon Kataf crisis.
CNG spokesperson, Abdul-Azeez Suleiman, who issued the warning in a statement in Abuja, said Lekwot should keep his frustrations to himself and avoid making baseless accusations.
According to the CNG, Lekwot’s accusations are baseless, misguided frustrations borne of pent-up ethnic jealousy aimed at promoting a separatist agenda that would harm the unity and stability of Nigeria. Read more
Sofia Vergara walks off AGT stage after relationship status is brought up (Hello!)
Sofia Vergara’s personal life entered the spotlight in a big way when she announced in July that she and husband Joe Manganiello were separating after seven years of marriage.
While the actress, 51, has been candid about her newly single life, she understandably was afraid to dive too deep into the subject when it was brought up once again on America’s Got Talent.
This isn’t the first time fellow judge Howie Mandel teased Sofia about her romantic life, doing so previously on an episode which aired in late August. Read more
The Rolling Stones’ ‘‘Hackney Diamonds’’ features Paul McCartney, Lady Gaga, Elton John and Stevie Wonder (NME)
The Rolling Stones have shared the full tracklist for their upcoming album ‘‘Hackney Diamonds’’, and confirmed that the record will feature appearances from Paul McCartney, Lady Gaga, Elton John and Stevie Wonder.
The classic rock icons announced details of their forthcoming 24th studio record last week and shared its lead single ‘‘Angry’’, which came with a music video starring Euphoria star Sydney Sweeney.
The new LP was announced at a globally live-streamed event from Hackney Empire in East London last Wednesday (September 6), hosted by The Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon. Here, Keith Richards, Mick Jagger and Ronnie Wood shared details on the upcoming release, and confirmed it will be their first new music in 18 years – following on from 2005’s ‘‘A Bigger Bang’’. Read more
Nearly 7,000 migrants arrive on Italy’s southern island of Lampedusa within 24hours (AfricaNews)
A flotilla of flimsy boats, crowded with migrants and launched from Tunisia, overwhelmed a tiny southern Italian island on Wednesday, taxing the coast guard’s capability to intercept the smugglers’ vessels and sorely testing Premier Giorgia Meloni’s pledge to thwart illegal migration.
Compounding the political pressure on Italy’s first far-right leader were vows by France and Germany to rebuff migrants who arrive by sea on Italian shores, and in defiance of European Union asylum system rules, head northward to try to find jobs or relatives in those and other northern countries on the continent.
Starting early Tuesday, the unseaworthy, unstable iron boats came one after the other in what appeared to be almost a procession to onlookers on Lampedusa, a fishing and tourist island south of Sicily. Read more
Kelsey Grammer returns to Frasier in official trailer for series reboot (Standard)
Paramount+ has released the official trailer for the rebooted series of Frasier, showcasing Kelsey Grammer back in the role of psychiatrist Dr Frasier Crane.
The show was filmed in front of a live studio audience at Paramount Studios in Los Angeles and the new series follows Dr Crane as he tries to forge a better relationship with his son.
Among those in the cast ensemble are Jess Salgueiro as Freddy’s roommate Eve, Anders Keith as Frasier’s nephew David, and Only Fools And Horses star Nicholas Lyndhurst, who plays Frasier’s old college friend-turned-university professor Alan Cornwall. Read more
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame launches screening series with MGM+ doc on San Francisco’s music scene in the 60s (Variety)
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation is rolling out a new industry screening series to show off a select group of music documentaries and films that feature its inductees as well as fresh talent.
The inaugural title launching the series is MGM+’s “San Francisco Sounds: A Place In Time,” a new two-part original music documentary featuring Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, Sly and the Family Stone, Janis Joplin, Steve Miller and more. The screening will take place in Los Angeles on Sept. 19.
“We are experiencing a rare moment when some of the greatest music documentaries of our time are being created,” said John Sykes, chairman of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation. “We’ve chosen a select group of these films that shine a light on our Inductees and their music, as well as newer artists who are following in their footsteps.” Read more
US military resumes drone, crewed aircraft operations in post-coup Niger (AlJazeera)
The United States military has resumed operations in Niger, flying drones and other aircraft out of air bases in the country more than a month after a coup halted activities, the head of Air Forces in Europe and Air Forces Africa said.
Since the July coup that removed President Mohamed Bazoum, the approximately 1,100 US soldiers deployed in the West African country have been confined to their military bases.
General James Hecker said on Wednesday that negotiations with the military rulers of Niger resulted in some intelligence and surveillance missions resuming. Read more
Marvel VFX workers unanimously vote to unionize with IATSE (Variety)
In a historic move, Marvel Studios’ visual effects workers unanimously voted in favor of unionizing with the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) in an election held by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), the company announced Wednesday.
This marks the first time a unit of solely VFX workers has unionized with IATSE.
The Marvel Studios workers initially filed for the election on Aug. 7, and votes were cast and collected between Aug. 21 and Sept. 11. During the count on Sept. 12, all votes were in favor of unionizing with IATSE and zero were against. Read more
Boniface wins Bundesliga Player of the Month award for August (Guardian)
Nigeria and Bayer Leverkusen striker, Victor Boniface, has won the Bundesliga Player of the Month award for August.
The German topflight organiser, Bundesliga, announced Boniface as the winner on their X handle on Thursday.
“Here’s your VICTOR!
“Congratulations to Victor Boniface on winning the #BundesligaPOTM for August!.”
Boniface had already won the Bundesliga Rookie of the Month for August. Read more
CAF celebrates retired Oparanozie (Punch)
The Confederation of African Football has paid tribute to former Super Falcons player, Desire Oparanozie, following her retirement from football, The PUNCH reports.
Oparanozie on Wednesday brought an end to her illustrious career after she announced her retirement from both country and club football at the age of 29.
Immediately after her announcement on her X account, former Falcons teammates Ashleigh Plumptre and Ngozi Okobi, as well as millions of fans, sent her emotional messages as she began a new journey. Read more
Jadon Sancho banned from Manchester United 1st-team training (MEN)
Jadon Sancho will not take part in team training until further notice due to a ‘squad discipline issue’, the club said in a statement on Thursday afternoon.
Sancho returned to United’s Carrington training complex at around 12.30pm on Monday, where he was widely expected to hold talks with Erik ten Hag over the public disagreement the pair had following the loss to Arsenal prior to the international break.
Ten Hag said Sancho was omitted from United’s squad for the trip to the Emirates Stadium due to his poor form in training, and Sancho swiftly responded on social media, saying he would not be made a ‘scapegoat’. Read more
Messi, Haaland, Mbappé lead FIFA’s The Best award shortlist (ESPN)
Lionel Messi, Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappé lead the 12-player shortlist for FIFA’s The Best Men’s Player nominees, with England midfielder Declan Rice also nominated after captaining former club West Ham United to Europa Conference League success.
Argentina captain Messi, now playing for MLS side Inter Miami, is aiming to win the award for a record third time having been given the honour in 2019 and 2022.
But despite helping Argentina to World Cup glory at Qatar 2022, Messi faces stiff competition from Manchester City forward Haaland after the Norway international scored 52 goals as Pep Guardiola’s side completed a Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup treble last season. Read more
Lewis Hamilton slams Helmut Marko over ‘‘totally unacceptable’’ Sergio Perez slur (PlanetF1)
Lewis Hamilton said leaders like Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko are holding Formula 1 back after his controversial Sergio Perez comments, which Hamilton said are not put right just because Marko apologised.
Marko attracted a great deal of negative attention ahead of the Singapore Grand Prix, having claimed that some of Red Bull driver Perez’s weaknesses can be attributed to traits of the South American culture.
Already such a claim, on top of being highly offensive, is also factually wrong as Perez is Mexican and so hails from the continent of North America. Read more
Rockets reportedly looking to trade Kevin Porter Jr. following arrest (NBC)
A day after Kevin Porter Jr. was formally charged with felony assault and strangulation for an alleged domestic violence attack on his girlfriend, the Houston Rockets are trying to trade the fifth-year guard.
Houston is willing to attach draft picks to Porter for any team that wants to take him, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic.
Those sources say the Rockets have contacted multiple teams offering draft compensation as incentive to receive Porter, who has the 2023-24 season slated for $15.9 million in Year 1 of a four-year, $82.5 million deal. In deal scenarios using Porter’s contract, the Rockets would be using his salary to target a player under contract who can play immediately and help the team, league sources said. Read more