LASTMA warns motorists on speed limit on renovated Third Mainland Bridge (Vanguard)
The Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) has warned motorists to maintain speed limit while driving on the long stretch of the newly-renovated Third Mainland Bridge.
The General Manager of LASTMA, Mr Olalekan Bakare-Oki, gave the warning in a statement on Wednesday in Lagos, signed by Director, Public Affairs and Enlightenment Department, LASTMA, Mr Adebayo Taofiq.
According to Bakare-Oki, the comprehensively-repaired bridge is scintillating and fascinating to drive on without any impediment. Read more
Tinubu signs Student Loans Act 2024 (Nation)
President Bola Tinubu has signed the Student Loans (Access to Higher Education) (Repeal and Re-enactment) Bill 2024 into law, expressing determination to give education the proper attention.
Speaking during the brief signing ceremony, Tinubu said the new law was passed to ensure that no Nigerian will miss out on quality education, not on account of poverty or lack of opportunity.
The new law, which was structured out of one of President Tinubu’s social safety net plans to reorder how wealth is distributed in the country, is aimed at emphasising his belief that education is the primary tool to effectively fight poverty. Read more
FG raises electricity tariffs for high level power consumers to N225/kwh (ThisDay)
The federal government Wednesday increased the rate paid per kilowatt hour (kwh) of electricity from about N68 to N225 for most Band ‘A’ Nigerian customers who consistently have 20 hours of supply daily.
Announcing the development in Abuja, the power sector regulator, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), noted that only about 15 per cent of the over 12 million registered power customers will be affected by the new decision.
Vice Chairman of NERC, Musiliu Oseni, who stood in for the Chairman, Sanusi Garba, during the press briefing, stated that only a fraction of the over 3,000 Distribution Companies (Discos) feeders, that is less than 500 feeders, will be impacted. Read more
NSCDC arrests 5 for rustling, recover 48 cattle in Niger (Channels)
Niger State command of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) has confirmed the arrest of five suspected cattle rustlers in Tafa Local Government Area of Niger State.
The State Commandant of the Corps, Joachim Okafor, confirmed the arrest in a press release made available to newsmen in Minna.
Commandant Okafor said that based on credible intelligence the Agro Rangers Team on patrol across Tafa Division got information about 48 cattle which were suspected to have been rustled from Kafuru in Katsina State through Sundu Kano and heading to Paukon Kore Gwagwalada Area Council of Abuja were intercepted. Read more
Naira appreciates further at official market, gains 1.23% (DailyTrust)
The Naira further gained at the official market, trading at N1,262.85 to a dollar on Wednesday.
Data from the official trading platform of the FMDQ revealed that the Naira gained N15.73.
This represents a 1.23 per cent appreciation when compared to the previous day’s trading on Tuesday, exchanging at N1,278.58 to a dollar. Read more
2 bag 450-hour community service for drug dealing in Lagos (Punch)
The Federal High Court in Lagos on Wednesday convicted and sentenced a 45-year-old businesswoman, Josephine Okpai, to 200 hours of community service for unlawful dealing in 1.3kg of cannabis sativa.
Also sentenced was a 44-year-old fashion designer, Waheed Olayiwola, who bagged 250 hours of community service for selling 145 kg of hard drugs.
While pleading for leniency, Okpai told the court that she was introduced to the selling of drugs after the Nigerian Customs Service seized her frozen goods sometime in April 2023. Read more
Abure, family survive fire outbreak at Abuja home (Leadership)
The Labour Party (LP) has said that its national chairman, Barr. Julius Abure, survived a mysterious fire incident at his Abuja residence even though the house was eventually burnt down.
A statement issued by the National Publicity Secretary of the LP, Obiora Ifoh, on Wednesday, said Abure’s residence was gutted by a mysterious fire which started a few minutes after 1am while Abure and the members of his family were asleep.
According to a member of the family, who narrated the incident, the family was woken up by neighbours and security men living in the compound, who raised the alarm. Read more
Lagos traditional ruler urges FG to postpone electricity price hike (Tribune)
The traditional ruler of the Otumara community in the Lagos Mainland Local Government of Lagos State, High Chief Kehinde Kalejaiye, has urged the Federal Government to halt its planned increase in electricity prices until electricity consumers are fully metered.
According to the monarch, doing this will ensure consumers pay for the actual electricity consumption and end estimated billing.
Increasing energy prices, according to him, without providing meters to consumers will lead to continued and agonising estimated billing, which is crippling small businesses. Read more
‘‘Fantastic Four’’ casts Julia Garner as Silver Surfer (THR)
“Fantastic Four” has found its Silver Surfer. Julia Garner will play a version of the classic character, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed.
WandaVision director Matt Shakman is directing the feature, which stars Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards/Mr. Fantastic, Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm/The Invisible Woman, Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm/The Human Torch and Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm/The Thing. The film has a release date of July 25, 2025, and is rumored to take place in the 1960s, the era in which writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby first introduced the “Fantastic Four”, the super team that launched the Marvel Universe in comics. Eric Pearson, known for Black Widow and Thor: Ragnarok, is the current writer on the film. Read more
Nicole Richie and Joel Madden’s kids Harlow and Sparrow pose with lookalike parents in rare red carpet moment (ET)
Nicole Richie and Joel Madden didn’t tell the world that their kids would be making a public appearance!
On Tuesday, the couple’s teenage children, Harlow, 16, and Sparrow, 14, joined the family fun during the premiere of Nicole’s film, “Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead”, at The Grove in Los Angeles.
Harlow and Sparrow put their style on display as they posed alongside their famous family — who all coordinated in various black ensembles. For her part, Harlow wore a black corset top that she paired with matching black leather pants. Sparrow kept things cool in a pair of dark-wash denim jeans and a black polo shirt. Read more
Joyner Lucas feels ‘scammed’ by Atlantic Records after being promised Cardi B collab (HipHopDx)
Joyner Lucas has expressed frustration with his former label Atlantic Records, saying he felt “scammed” after he was promised collaborations with big-name artists like Cardi B.
In an interview on Math Hoffa’s My Expert Opinion podcast, the ADHD MC reflected on his experience as a major label artist and explained how it didn’t work out for him.
Describing the disingenuous process of major labels courting new talent, he said: “They find an artist. They do a little research. They’ll have the artist come in. Everybody at the table will make it seem like they’ve been rocking with this artist for so long. Everybody’s in on this cruel, fucked up scam.” Read more
Gaza ceasefire talks stall as Israel and Hamas dig in (AlJazeera)
Revived talks on a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas appear to be making little progress, with the two sides showing few signs that they are ready to compromise on their demands.
Israeli objections to the return of displaced residents to their homes in Gaza is a key issue holding up the negotiations, Qatari officials said on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Hamas said that it will not budge on its conditions to release captives it holds in the besieged and bombarded territory.
Alongside the United States and Egypt, Qatar has been running behind-the-scenes talks in a bid to secure a truce and the release of Israeli captives in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails after nearly six months of war. Read more
Uganda’s most prominent LGBTQ activist says newly upheld anti-gay law will prompt violence (NBC)
Uganda’s most prominent LGBTQ activist condemned a constitutional court’s decision Wednesday to uphold an anti-gay law that permits the death penalty in certain cases.
Speaking with NBC News from New York City, Frank Mugisha called the ruling a form of “state-sanctioned homophobia” and said he is bracing for violence in the East African nation.
“This ruling intensifies violations towards the LGBT community,” Mugisha said. “It is like the judges have told Ugandans: ‘Go and get violent towards the LGBTQ community.’” Read more
Jonathan Majors draws ‘strength’ from His ‘friends, fans, family and dogs’ ahead of sentencing: Lawyer (People)
Jonathan Majors faced another legal setback this week when the judge in his domestic violence case declined his lawyer’s motion to set aside his December guilty verdict.
“Jonathan feels disappointed by the outcome of the motion, yet he upholds respect for the process,” his lawyer Priya Chaudhry said in a statement obtained by PEOPLE.
Due to the judge’s decision, the 34-year-old former Marvel star — who was found guilty of misdemeanor assault in the third degree, recklessly causing physical injury, as well as harassment in the second degree in a domestic violence case related to an alleged fight between him and former girlfriend Grace Jabbari in New York City last March — will still be sentenced as scheduled on April 6. Read more
African migrants removed from the streets of Paris ahead 100 days to Olympics (AfricaNews)
French police on Wednesday removed dozens of migrants, including families with young children, from the forecourt of Paris City Hall as the capital prepared to mark 100 days until the start of the Olympic Games.
Police arrived at dawn to remove about 50 people, mostly women and children aged 3 to 10, who were bundled up in strollers, under blankets or covered with plastic sheets to shield against the rain.
The migrants packed their belongings and boarded a bus to temporary government housing in the town of Besançon in eastern France. Read more
Rangers defeats Sunshine Stars 2 – 0 in Enugu (Vanguard)
Rangers International Football Club of Enugu, Wednesday sent the visiting Sunshine of Akure packing by two goals to nil in the Week 28 of the NPFL table.
As Rangers collected the three points, it keeps them first position on the league table with 51 points.
The Flying Antelopes who looked good from the blast of the whistle scored their first goal of the match in the 44th minutes through a sizzling shot from kalu Nweke. Read more
Waldrum backs Falcons to break Olympics jinx (Punch)
Super Falcons coach, Randy Waldrum, is confident his team will break the jinx of not qualifying for the Olympics when they take on South Africa in their Women’s Olympic Football Tournament African final qualifying playoff but also expressed concerns over the talents the Banyana Banyana have in attack, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.
The Falcons have missed three consecutive Olympic Games — London 2012, Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 — since their last appearance in Beijing 2008 and Waldrum adds that his team’s focus is on qualifying for Paris, France later this year.
Nine-time African champions Falcons host reigning African champions South Africa for the first leg at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium, Abuja on Friday, with the reverse fixture billed for Pretoria’s Loftus Versfeld Arena next Tuesday. Read more
Goran Ivanisevic casts fresh doubts over Novak Djokovic’s future with telling comment (Tennis365)
Goran Ivanisevic has cast fresh doubts over Novak Djokovic’s future in tennis, as the former world No 1’s coach has admitted he “doesn’t know how much longer he plans to keep on playing”.
The first comments served up by Ivanisevic after his exit as Djokovic’s lead coach were always going to be revealing and the Croat didn’t disappoint as he spoke to Sport Klub.
Ivanisevic became Djokovic’s main coach in March 2022, having previously worked alongside Djokovic’s long-time mentor Marian Vajda for several years. Read more
Mbappe hits winner as PSG reach French Cup final (BBC)
Paris St-Germain will face Lyon in the French Cup final after Kylian Mbappe’s goal helped them edge out Rennes in their semi-final.
Mbappe scored the 40th-minute winner with a deflected shot that found the bottom corner.
The Frenchman had a penalty saved by Rennes keeper Steve Mandanda seven minutes earlier after he was fouled in the area. Read more
Premier League star dumped by wife after Ring doorbell camera exposes affair (Mirror)
The Premier League star, who also plays international football, struck up an eight-month affair with the glamorous model after spotting her on social media
A married Premier League ace was ditched by his wife who caught him cheating – thanks to their Ring doorbell camera.
The dozy star, who also plays international football, struck up an eight-month affair with the glamorous model after spotting her on social media. Read more
German Cup: Boniface returns as Leverkusen thrash Dusseldorf to reach final (CompleteSports)
Victor Boniface made his long awaited return to the Bayer Leverkusen team, as they hammered Fortuna Dusseldorf 4-0 to reach the final of the German Cup on Wednesday night.
Boniface, who has been out since January with a groin injury, came on for Patrik Schick in the 65th minute.
Also in action for Leverkusen was Nathan Tella, who was also introduced in the 65th minute. Read more