May 27: Remi Tinubu appeals for compassion towards children (Leadership)
To celebrate the May 27 Children’s Day, the First Lady, Mrs Remi Tinubu, has described children as sources of immense joy who need to be given more love, care, and compassion by parents and guardians.
She was speaking at the special Children’s Day celebration tagged ‘Celebrating with our Children’, with the theme, ‘Our Children, Our Future’, in commemoration of the first anniversary of the administration of President Bola Tinubu.
“I am delighted to welcome all our lovely children to the State House. It is your day and I am happy to celebrate with you all,” she stated. Read more
Nigeria Air project was fraudulent, remains suspended – Keyamo (Vanguard)
The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has described the controversial Nigeria Air unveiled by the Buhari-led administration as a fraud, stating that it remains suspended.
Giving details about that project, he noted that the ‘national carrier’ that was supposed to be an indigenous project and one that was supposed to spark hope for Nigerians, was flawed with a lot of secrecy and fraudulent activities.
While fielding questions from journalists during the second day of the Ministerial Sectorial update, held on Monday, May 27, in Abuja, Keyamo declared that the Nigeria Air remains suspended, adding that it was anti-Nigeria. Read more
Paris-bound businessman excretes 111 wraps of cocaine at Abuja Airport (ThisDay)
Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a 48-year-old Paris-bound businessman, Emmanuel Okechuku Orjinze, for ingesting 111 wraps of cocaine.
He excreted after days of observation in the agency’s custody following his arrest at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.
A statement yesterday by the spokesman of the anti-narcotics agency, Femi Babafemi, said Okechukwu, who also claimed to be a professional footballer in Europe, was arrested last Tuesday during the outward clearance of Air France flight AF 878 from Abuja to Paris. Read more
Children’s Day: Gombe NBA decries 12-year-old’s amputation over phone theft (Punch)
The Vice Chairperson, Nigerian Bar Association, Gombe Branch, Mwalin Abdu, has decried the amputation of a 12-year-old Adamu following alleged phone theft in Akko Local Government Area of the state.
Abdu, who doubles as Chairperson, the Human Rights Committee NBA, condemned the spate of abuse in a
press statement she titled ‘Protecting our future: Urgent action needed on child protection in Gombe State’ while commemorating the 2024 Children’s Day.
According to her, authorities should implement the child protection law, to tackle abuse, stressing the need for concerted efforts towards combating dastard acts against minors. Read more
Governor Sani commissions newly built school in Kaduna, pledges to build 50 more (Nation)
The Kaduna state governor, Uba Sani, has announced plans to build 50 additional secondary schools in the state while commissioning one of the 62 newly established Government Secondary Schools in Rigachikun, Igabi local government area on Monday, May 27.
Governor Sani explained that the administration’s decision to embark on the extensive educational infrastructure projects was driven by the need to address significant barriers to accessing education.
He emphasised that education is the best investment against poverty and insecurity. Read more
AGF seeks review of ECOWAS court practices (Tribune)
The Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN) on Monday, charged the ECOWAS Judicial Council to initiate a reform-oriented review of the practice and procedure of the ECOWAS Court of Justice to avoid conflicts with national courts and to make the court realise envisioned potential as a respectable regional court.
Fagbemi who stated this in Abuja, while addressing the opening ceremony of the Statutory Meeting of the ECOWAS Judicial Council said, the Council should also provide credible network for promotion of uniform rules of practice and procedure in the administration of justice in order to reduce conflict of laws in the region.
He said, the ECOWAS Judicial Council stands in a proper position to work towards the promotion of rule of law and democratic governance, which has come under intense pressure in recent times. Read more
Tinubu to commission Navy’s new warships, helicopters — Ogalla (Channels)
The Chief of the Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ogalla, has announced that President Bola Tinubu will commission three newly acquired war ships and two helicopters for use by the Nigerian Navy.
At an interdenominational church service to mark the Nigerian Navy’s 68th Anniversary Celebration in Abuja on Sunday, Vice Admiral Ogalla, also said the President will declare open the International Maritime Exhibition in which international and local maritime security-related companies will show case their products and services.
The Chief of the Naval Staff further asked all officers, ratings and civilian staff of the Nigerian Navy to maintain utmost professionalism while serving with dedication, and patriotism. Read more
Dump IMF policies now, ex-AD secretary tells Tinubu (DailyTrust)
Prof Udenta Udenta, a founding national secretary of Alliance for Democracy (AD), has called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to dump the ideas being forced on the country by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in order to pull Nigeria out of its current economic challenges.
He gave this advice while speaking about the first anniversary of President Tinubu’s administration on Channels Television’s political programme, Sunday Politics.
“There is no help coming from IMF or Washington Consensus. They want to beat the state down, they want the state to keep coming back to them so that they can impose their structural adjustment programmes,” he alleged. Read more
Maisie Williams lands next lead movie role (DigitalSpy)
Game of Thrones star Maisie Williams has landed her next lead movie role.
The actor will star in Morgan Matthews’ upcoming road movie “500 Miles”, alongside the legendary Bill Nighy and Jojo Rabbit’s Roman Griffin Davis.
Filming is expected to begin later this year in Ireland (via Screen Daily). Read more
General Hospital actor Johnny Wactor, 37, shot and killed in robbery (Metro)
General Hospital actor Johnny Wactor has died, it has been confirmed.
The TV star, 37 – who appeared in almost 200 episodes of the American series – was shot and killed in downtown Los Angeles early Saturday morning (May 26).
His mother, Scarlett, confirmed the tragic news to TMZ.
She said that Wactor was with a colleague when three men tried to steal his catalytic converter. Read more
Zimbabwe’s new gold-backed currency faces public skepticism amid crackdown (AfricaNews)
The introduction of the world’s newest currency in April inspired a reggae artist to record a song praising the ZiG, or Zimbabwe Gold.
The catchy tune, titled “Zig Mari,” received generous play on state television and radio. The musician, Ras Caleb, received a car and $2,000 — ironically paid in greenbacks, not the new ZiGs — from a businessman with close ties to Zimbabwe’s ruling party and President Emmerson Mnangagwa; he said he wanted to reward an act he considered “patriotic.”
Although money typically doesn’t require publicity, Zimbabwe’s sixth national currency in 15 years needs all the help it can get. Read more
Glen Powell says he ‘puked in the bushes’ after first watching ‘Hidden Figures’ because he thought he ‘ruined’ it (People)
Glen Powell is getting candid about a project he felt his performance “ruined” when watching a rough cut for the first time.
The Hit Man actor, 35, admitted during a recent appearance on the Therapuss with Jake Shane podcast that he “puked in the bushes” after seeing himself as famous astronaut John Glenn in the 2016 historical drama Hidden Figures.
“I remember watching Hidden Figures for the first time on the Fox lot … and this was before all the effects were done, the music was in, the sound design … and I literally left the movie and I puked in the bushes,” said Powell on the podcast episode, which was released Wednesday, May 22. Read more
Former German soldier jailed for spying for Russia (AlJazeera)
A former German soldier has been sentenced to three and a half years in jail for sharing secret military information with Russia in the wake of the outbreak of war in Ukraine.
A court in Duesseldorf had found the defendant, named only as Thomas H, guilty of passing on information on his initiative from his post in the military procurement service.
In handing the sentence on Monday, judges noted that Thomas had no prior offences on his record, had not benefitted materially from helping Russia and was in poor health at the time he did so. Read more
Tech company blames recruiter for ‘whites only’ job posting (NBC)
A US technology company said a recruiter based in India was to blame for a job advertisement that stated only “white” people born in the US should apply — and agreed to a federal settlement.
The Justice Department said in a statement Thursday that Arthur Grand, an information technology services firm specializing in government contracts, had agreed to pay a civil penalty of $7,500 and reform its hiring practices after it was found to have posted the discriminatory job posting.
According to the department, the March 2023 posting stated that the position “restricted eligible candidates to ‘only US Born Citizens [white] who are local within 60 miles from Dallas, TX [Don’t share with candidates].'” Read more
France to lift state of emergency in riot-razed New Caledonia after 7 killed (LBC)
French President Emmanuel Macron has decided to lift the state of emergency in the French Pacific territory of New Caledonia in a move meant to allow political dialogue following the unrest that left seven people dead and a trail of destruction, his office said.
The president’s office said in a statement on Monday the state of emergency will not be extended “for the moment” and will end on Monday at 8pm in Paris or 5pm on Tuesday in New Caledonia.
The decision aims at “enabling meetings of the various components” such as the pro-independence movement Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front (FLNKS). Read more
Super Eagles’ invitation excites Remo Stars defender, Ismail (Leadership)
Remo Stars defender, Sadiq Ismail, is in a buoyant mood following his maiden invitation to the Super Eagles.
Sadiq is among the 23 players summoned for the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against South Africa and Benin Republic.
The right-back earned the invitation on the back of his impressive showing for Remo Stars in the Nigeria Premier Football League this season. Read more
Swiatek sets up Osaka blockbuster with opening win at French Open (Sky)
Iga Swiatek set up a blockbuster clash with Naomi Osaka at the French Open after racing through her opening match in Paris.
The world No 1 cruised past qualifier Leolia Jeanjean 6-1 6-2 on Monday to successfully launch her title defence at Roland Garros, where she is seeking a fourth title on the Paris clay.
The 22-year-old, who has won the French Open three times in the last four years, arrived in the French capital on the back of a 12-match winning streak on clay, having rolled through the tournaments in Madrid and Rome. Read more
Korda to take Woods-like dominance into US Open (BBC)
Nelly Korda arrives into the biggest week on the women’s golf calendar as a red-hot favourite to land her first US Open title having won six of her last seven tournaments.
It is a period of extraordinary dominance. In those tournaments, stretching back to late January, she has beaten a combined 883 competitors, losing to only six by finishing seventh in the only event she has not won.
In the half-dozen strokeplay events involved, she is an aggregate 74 under par. Read more
Dessers disappointed with Rangers’ Scottish Cup final defeat to Celtic (AfricaNews)
Cyriel Dessers can’t hide his disappointment following Rangers’ Scottish Cup final defeat to Celtic.
Phillipe Clement’s side lost another trophy to their Glasgow rivals after falling short in the Scottish Premiership title race.
Dessers stated that the defeat would motivate the players to do well next season
“Everybody is devastated. We were close and we played a good game. It wasn’t an easy game and if you lose it that way in the end then obviously it hurts,” Dessers was quoted by Football Scotland. Read more
Ten Hag fears Man United sacking despite FA Cup win – source (ABC)
Erik ten Hag believes he could still be sacked by Manchester United despite winning the FA Cup, a source told ESPN.
Ten Hag led his team to a surprise 2-1 victory over Manchester City at Wembley Stadium in London on Saturday. But the Dutchman, who began a holiday on Sunday still in the dark about his future, remains concerned that he will be axed once club chiefs hold their end-of-season review.
A source told ESPN that the review is due to begin this week. Other reviews Ineos director of sport Sir Dave Brailsford has led in other sports have typically taken around four days to complete. Read more
Sainz tempted a few times by ‘all or nothing’ move on Piastri (F1i)
Carlos Sainz says he was “tempted a few times” to unleash an attack on Oscar Piastri during the Monaco Grand Prix, but ultimately thought the better of risking an “all or nothing” move on the McLaren driver.
Sainz enjoyed a strong launch off the grid and managed to seize from Piastri the inside line into Ste Devote.
However, their cars made slight contact, resulting in a puncture for the Ferrari driver. The early setback looked like it would ruin Sainz’s race, forcing him to retire from last place. Read more