Last week’s election a sham – Okowa, Datti-Ahmed (Vanguard)
The Vice Presidential Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Sen. Ifeanyi Okowa and his counterpart in the Labour Party, Dr. Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed have dismissed last week’s Presidential election as a sham.
The duo said this at a joint press conference, in Abuja, on Tuesday.
Reading from a prepared text, Governor Okowa said what the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, was doing by announcing results yet to be uploaded on the INEC portal was illegal and cannot stand.
The promise by the INEC Chairman to review the results after the declaration is a joke. Read more
Fire guts Lagos Blue Rail station (DailyTrust)
A section of the multi-billion naira Blue Rail Mass Transit project at Marina, Lagos State, has been gutted by fire.
It was learnt that the section, which houses a generator used in the facility, was affected by the fire on Tuesday.
However, no life was lost and no one was injured, as the fire was quickly put out by firefighters from both the Federal and State fire stations before it could spread to other sections.
The Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin, confirmed the incident. Read more
Scanty markets, roads after announcement of election result in Lagos (Guardian)
There was mild apprehension, yesterday, following unconfirmed reports of thugs going on a rampage on the streets of Lagos allegedly because an opposition candidate had won a majority of votes in Lagos State.
The alleged attack and rampage was reported in Abibu Oki Street, off Broad Street in Mandilas market, Lagos Island, where the thugs allegedly chased out shop owners, robbing them and destroying properties.
Similarly, there was a report that the multi-billion naira auto parts market at Ladipo, Mushin, was set ablaze by hoodlums. Read more
APC wins 24 Reps in Lagos, clears 3 Senate seats (ThisDay)
Candidates of the All Progressives Congress (APC) have been declared winners of the three senatorial seats in Lagos State, recording landslide victories across the National Assembly slots.
Former deputy governor, Dr. Idiat Adebule, won the Lagos West senatorial election, polling 361,296 votes to defeat her main challenger of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Segun Adewale, who scored 248,653 votes.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Lagos West Senatorial District Collation Officer, Prof Solomon Akinboye, expressed satisfaction in the conduct of the election. Read more
BVAS: George slams INEC over challenges with servers (Punch)
Former deputy national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Olabode George, has expressed disappointment that the Independent National Electoral Commission is reverting to the manual system of votes collation after the reported failure of its Bimodal Voter Accreditation System meant for the seamless transmission of election results electronically into its server.
According to George, the move is not acceptable, adding that it is the same as taking the country back to the period of misery when election results were manipulated between the polling units and the collation centres.
George said this at a press conference in Lagos on Monday in reaction to the presidential election that was held in the country on Saturday. Read more
Don’t truncate electoral process, FG replies Obasanjo (Tribune)
The Federal Government has told former President Olusegun Obasanjo not to truncate the 2023 General Elections with his alleged inciting and provocative letter on the elections.
The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, in a statement he issued on Tuesday, said what the former President presented as an ‘appeal for caution and rectification’ is nothing but a calculated attempt to undermine the electoral process and a willful incitement to violence.
The Minister expressed shock that a former President could throw around unverified claims and amplify wild allegations picked up from the street against the electoral process. Read more
Ifeanyi Ubah wins Anambra South Senate seat (Guardian)
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared Sen. Ifeanyi Ubah of the Young Progressive Party (YPP), as the winner of the Anambra South Senate seat.
INEC Resident Returning Officer, Prof. Ebele Nwokoye announced the result in Nnewi.
Nwokoye said that Ubah polled 73, 115 votes to emerge the winner, while Mr Chris Azubogu of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) placed second with 45, 369 votes. Read more
Gunmen kill monarch in Ebonyi community (Nation)
Gunmen have killed the traditional ruler of the Umuezeokaha community, Ezza North Local Government Area of Ebonyi State, HRH, Igboke Ewa.
Ewa was killed on Monday night in the community for allegedly refusing to support a particular party during the general elections.
However, the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ebonyi condemned murder of the monarch. Read more
Couple clinic will address pregnancy challenges, says Sanwo-Olu (Punch)
The wife of the Lagos State Governor, Mrs Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu, has inaugurated a 30-bed maternity centre and a couple clinic at the Orile Agege General Hospital to further enhance antenatal care and child delivery in the state.
Speaking during the inauguration on Monday, Mrs Sanwo-Olu said the facilities were in line with the THEMES agenda of the current government to provide affordable and quality health care for all in the state.
“This is another effort put in place by the Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s government to further raise the standard of services rendered in all government-owned hospitals in Lagos. Read more
Mark Wahlberg’s problematic past resurfaces following SAG Awards appearance (Parade)
The Screen Actor’s Guild Awards are being called out for choosing Mark Wahlberg to present an award to the mostly Asian cast of Everything Everywhere All at Once.
The actor, 51, took the stage at the SAG Awards last evening to present the award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture. The honour went to the 2022 film starring Michelle Yeoh, Stephanie Hsu, and Ke Huy Quan.
Following the presentation, fans were quick to bring up Wahlberg’s past, specifically pertaining to an incident when he was a teenager where he was charged with attacking two Vietnamese men while high on PCP. Authorities reported that the actor used racist slurs to describe both victims of the assault that he plead guilty to. Read more
Why 1000s of people who thought they were British could lose their citizenship (Conversation)
Confusion has arisen around the British government’s own understanding of its citizenship laws, following a judgment by the UK’s high court.
In a ruling handed down on 20 January 2023, in the case of Roehrig v Secretary of State for the Home Department, Mr Justice Eyre determined that the restrictive approach applied by the Home Office since 2000 to how the children of EU nationals automatically acquire citizenship is the correct interpretation of the law.
The case in question concerns the nationality of Antoine Lucas Roehrig, who was born on 20 October 2000 in the UK. His mother is a French national who had lived and worked in the UK under EU law for the five years before he was born. Roehrig claimed he acquired British citizenship at birth by virtue of section 1(1)(b) of the British Nationality Act 1981 because his mother was settled in the UK at the time he was born. The Home Office disputed that his mother met the act’s criteria for being settled and refused his application for a British passport. Read more
Tom Cruise “got emotional” in Top Gun reunion with Val Kilmer (NME)
Tom Cruise has discussed how he “got emotional” in his Top Gun: Maverick reunion with Val Kilmer.
The actor, who reprised his role as Peter “Maverick” Mitchell from the 1986 film Top Gun, appeared in a brief scene with Kilmer in the new film.
Kilmer played Tom “Iceman” Kazansky in the original film, but only returned for a cameo in the new film after being diagnosed with cancer in 2015 and now speaking with a voice box. Read more
Richard Gere’s wife gives update on his Pneumonia health scare in Mexico (People)
Richard Gere is finally ready to party.
The actor, 73, caught a case of pneumonia requiring hospitalization while vacationing in Mexico for his wife Alejandra Silva’s 40th birthday, but now appears to be over the hump, health-wise.
On Saturday, Silva posted a carousel of photos to Instagram, showing off all the festivities she enjoyed with friends for her special day — including a shot of Gere smiling at her sparkler-topped birthday cake, plus one of the duo in a sweet embrace.
“As you can see we are all mostly recovered,” Silva — who reported she herself had been weathering sinusitis and an ear infection in an earlier update — captioned the post. Read more
Sally Field shares heartache over loss of Robin Williams on 30th anniversary of Mrs Doubtfire (Standard)
Sally Field has paid tribute to her Mrs Doubtfire co-star Robin Williams as the film celebrates its 30th anniversary and says his death nine years ago is still hard to accept.
The actress, 76, starred alongside Williams, who died by suicide aged 63 in 2014, in the beloved film about a father who decides to pose as a Scottish female nanny to spend more time with his children following a bitter divorce.
While on the red carpet at this year’s Screen Actors Guild Awards, Field was asked what comes to mind when reminiscing on making the 1993 flick and she did not hesitate in her response. Read more
Post Malone UK and Ireland dates for Twelve Carat 2023 tour including Manchester gig (MEN)
Post Malone has announced a number of UK and Ireland shows as part of the European leg of his Twelve Carat tour – including a stop off in Manchester.
The American rapper and singer will play two dates at The 02 in London before heading to Dublin, Glasgow, Birmingham and finally Manchester on Tuesday, May 16, along with special guest Rae Sremmurd. Gigs have also been confirmed for European cities including Stockholm, Oslo, Antwerp, Zurich, Cologne and Amsterdam.
Tickets for the tour go on general sale at 12pm on Friday, March 3, while pre-sales are scheduled to go live at 12pm on Wednesday, March 1. The Grammy award-nominated singer recently finished the Australia and New Zealand leg of the Twelve Carat Tour, following a string of shows in North America last year. Read more
Brazil officials visit Amazon region where British journalist, Indigenous expert were killed (NBC)
A high-level delegation of the Brazilian government traveled on Monday to the remote corner of the Amazon rainforest where British journalist Dom Phillips and Indigenous expert Bruno Pereira were murdered last year, to demonstrate just how much Brazil’s new government differs from that of former far-right President Jair Bolsonaro.
The group was led by Sônia Guajajara, Brazil’s first minister of Indigenous Peoples. She was joined by the widows of both slain men. The trip involved several flights including a seaplane to arrive in Atalaia do Norte, an impoverished city by the banks of Javari River.
“We are here to reestablish the presence of the Brazilian government in the Javari Valley region,” Guajajara told a mostly Indigenous crowd gathered in a small, stifling auditorium. “It is no longer possible for Indigenous people to be cowed and afraid within their own territory.” Read more
2023 U20 AFCON quarterfinals: Flying Eagles to face Uganda (Sun)
Contrary to reports in a section of the local media, seven-time African champions Nigeria will not be facing Congo in the quarterfinals of the 2023 Africa U20 Cup of Nations.
By virtue of finishing first in Group B of the ongoing tournament in Egypt, Uganda set up a meeting with the Flying Eagles, the second-placed team in Group A, at the Cairo International Stadium, Cairo on Friday, March 3, 2023.
The Confederation of African Football conducted the drawing of lots on Sunday evening to determine the top two teams in Group B and the move was necessary because Uganda and Congo were level on five points each with an identical goal difference at the top of the group. Read more
Osimhen has done enough to win African Footballer of the Year award, says Elahor (Guardian)
Former international, Friday Elahor, is confident that Super Eagles’ striker, Victor Osimhen, will win the next African Player of the Year award if he maintains his current form.
The Napoli striker has been instrumental to his club’s current number one position in the Italian Serie A, scoring 21 goals and providing four assists in 25 games for his club.
Speaking to The Guardian yesterday, Elahor stated that Osimhen’s exceptional form is exactly the kind the country craves for ahead of next month’s matches of the Cote d’Ivoire 2024 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying series. Read more
Jurgen Klopp confirms Liverpool injury boost for Wolves clash but rules 3 stars out (Mirror)
Jurgen Klopp has confirmed Ibrahima Konate is back in training ahead of the clash vs Wolves while Darwin Nunez is also in contention for Liverpool.
Konate has been out of action since suffering a hamstring injury in the FA Cup defeat to Brighton at the end of January. The French centre-back has missed Liverpool’s last five matches but is now available again for selection.
Questions have been asked of Liverpool’s defence while Konate has been absent, with Joe Gomez doing little to cement his place alongside Virgil van Dijk. Gomez was one of the main players to be criticised after the 5-2 defeat to Real Madrid last week and missed the 0-0 draw with Crystal Palace on Saturday. Read more
Grimsby ”huge underdogs” for Southampton tie (BBC)
Grimsby Town boss Paul Hurst says his side are “huge underdogs” for their FA Cup fifth-round tie at Premier League strugglers Southampton.
The League Two Mariners are looking to reach the quarter-finals of the FA Cup for the first time since 1939.
They face a Saints side who have sacked two managers this season and are bottom of the top flight. Read more
Kyrgios withdraws from Indian Wells (France24)
Australian star Nick Kyrgios has withdrawn from next month’s ATP/WTA Indian Wells Masters after failing to recover in time from knee surgery, organisers said Monday.
The world number 19 has not appeared on the tour since playing in Tokyo last October following his run to the US Open quarter-finals the previous month.
The 27-year-old underwent knee surgery in January to repair a torn left meniscus following his withdrawal from the Australian Open. Read more
Jayson Tatum picks up 1st career ejection in Celtics’ loss (ESPN)
A frustrating night for Jayson Tatum ended early, as the Boston Celtics superstar was given a second technical foul and his first career ejection with 3 minutes, 46 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter of a 109-94 New York Knicks victory on Monday at a sold-out Madison Square Garden.
“I don’t know,” Tatum said, when asked what led him to get ejected in this game, compared to past times he already had a technical foul. Then, he smiled.
“But all the great players get thrown out a few times in their career,” he said. “So, it’s good for my rep.” Read more