Minimum wage: FG not serious – Labour (Sun)
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has said the Federal Government’s delay in approving a new national minimum wage reflects a lack of preparedness and seriousness.
Spokesperson of the NLC, Mr Benson Upah, stated this in a phone conversation with Daily Sun yesterday.
On Tuesday, the Federal Executive Council (FEC) had stepped down the memorandum on the report of the Tripartite Committee on New National Minimum Wage to allow for more consultations between President Bola Tinubu, state governors, local government authorities and the private sector. Read more
Senate extends implementation of 2023 supplementary budget to Dec 31 (Punch)
The Senate has extended the life cycle of the 2023 supplementary budget from June 30 to December 31, 2024.
The Red Chamber on Thursday suspended all its rules and gave an expeditious passage to a bill seeking the extension in less than 20 minutes.
Earlier before the passage of the bill, the lawmakers went into a closed-door session for two hours. Read more
Shettima presides over monthly NEC meeting (ThisDay)
Vice President Kashim Shettima is presiding over the monthly National Economic Council (NEC) meeting at the State House, Abuja.
The 141st edition of NEC meeting, which is taking place at the Council Chambers of the presidential villa, is being attended by several governors while those of Lagos, Rivers, Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe, are being represented by their deputies.
Membership of the NEC, a statutory body tasked with advising the President on national economic affairs, include the Vice President as Chairman, the Governors of the 36 states, the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, the Minister of Finance and his FCT counterpart and other stakeholders as members. Read more
Hajj 2024: Operators calls for NAHCON probe over poor performance (NewTelegraph)
The ripples generated from the poor conduct of the 2024 Hajj, in which Nigerian’ Pilgrims were subjected to untold hardship in Saudi Arabia are yet to fizzle out.
The Association for Hajj and Umrah Operators of Nigeria (AHOUN), umbrella trade association of all the tour operators involved in the organisation of Hajj and Umrah has called on the Federal Government to probe National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON), Hajj regulator on the handling of 2024 Hajj conduct.
In a Press statement issued on Thursday, AHOUN National President, Abdulmojeed Ekundayo, decried woes melted on Nigerian Pilgrims who performed 2024 Hajj, recalling hardship Nigera’s Pilgrims were subjected to in the Hajj as unprecedented in the annals of Hajj performance. Read more
Yayaha Bello seeks transfer of ‘money laundering’ trial to Kogi (DailyTrust)
The immediate past governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, has asked the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice John Tsoho, to transfer his alleged money laundering trial to Lokoja, the Kogi State capital.
At the resumed hearing of the 19-count charges against him, which was fixed for June 27, Bello, through his counsel, Adeola Adedipe (SAN), informed the court that the lead defence counsel, Abdulwahab Mohammed (SAN), had written the CJ for the transfer of the case in a letter dated June 14, 2024.
He contended that criminal proceedings must be initiated and prosecuted in the judicial division of the Federal High Court where the act or omission or the elements of the offence were allegedly committed. Read more
Alleged NIMC data breach under probe — FG (Vanguard)
The Federal Government said investigation has commenced into the alleged breach of data of Nigerians domiciled at the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC).
Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy of Nigeria, Bosun Tijani disclosed this in a statement via his X (formerly Twitter) handle on Wednesday.
The minister said the NIMC and National Data Protection Commission (NDPC) have commenced a probe into the matter. Read more
Some private jets used for money laundering, drug trafficking – Minister (Channels)
The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, says some private aircraft operating in Nigeria are being used for money laundering, drug trafficking and other illegal activities.
Keyamo made the revelation at the Ministry of Aviation in Abuja on Thursday, when he inaugurated a Ministerial Taskforce Committee to checkmate illegal chartered operations in the country.
Though the minister did not mention the names of the airlines, he asserted that these illegal activities have made the sector lose billions of dollars and raised serious security concerns. Read more
VeryDarkMan slams Obi Cubana over call to respect elders online (Nation)
Controversial critic Verydarkman has responded to Obi Cubana’s call for blogs to stop posting content that shows youths disrespecting elders.
Verydarkman accused Obi Cubana of being uncomfortable with his criticisms because they expose the wrongdoing of people like him.
He criticised Obi Cubana for spending money on lavish things while failing to speak out on important issues affecting the youth. Read more
Megan Thee Stallion to open Sunday’s BET Awards (UPI)
Rapper Megan Thee Stallion is set to open Sunday’s BET Awards ceremony.
She joins a lineup that will include Will Smith, GloRilla, Ice Spice, Latto, Ms. Lauryn Hill & YG Marley, Muni Long, Sexyy Red, Shaboozey, Tyla and Victoria Monét.
Taraji P. Henson is to host the event where Usher will receive the Lifetime Achievement BET Award.
Drake leads the field with seven BET Awards nominations. Read more
Kenya Moore exits Real Housewives of Atlanta season 16 after suspension for explicit photos scandal (People)
Kenya Moore is leaving The Real Housewives of Atlanta.
PEOPLE can confirm that Moore won’t be returning to the series. Cast members were told the news on Tuesday, June 25.
It’s a decision that sources close to production tell PEOPLE came from the network — though TMZ, who was first to report the news, said Moore mutually agreed to take a break from the series. The outlet’s insiders also claim that Moore is exploring her legal options “because she’s not happy with how this whole mess unfolded.” Read more
Met Police officer charged after ‘stealing money from man who collapsed and died’ (Independent)
A Metropolitan Police officer has been charged with misconduct in public office over the alleged theft of money from a man who died after collapsing, the force said.
PC Craig Carter has also been suspended from duty.
The officer, who is attached to the North Area Command Unit, is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Friday. Read more
Around 250 people stuck in cable cars after collapse killed one and injured 20 (Metro)
Around 250 people were left trapped on a cable car service in Colombia, after an accident on the line left one dead and at least 21 injured.
The Metrocable car in the city of Medellin collapsed onto a taxi car waiting below, seriously injuring the driver and and the 11 people inside.
The dead man has been identified locally as Jhon Jairo Londono, 49. The driver of the minicab was also injured and pictures from the scene show the smashed cable car next to the yellow taxi. Read more
Mustafa wins 2024 Prism Prize as “Name Of God” named Best Canadian music video of the year (Billboard)
Mustafa has become the first two-time winner of the Prism Prize. He wins the 2024 Grand Prize for Canadian music video of the year for “Name of God.”
Mustafa, also known as Mustafa Ahmed and Mustafa The Poet, also took home the award in 2022 for “Ali.” Both of his winning videos are self-directed. Mustafa’s win comes with a $20,000 prize, the largest monetary award for music videos worldwide. Read more
Julian Assange lands in Australia a free man (BBC)
Julian Assange has landed back home in his native Australia, after a plea deal allowed him to walk free from a London prison.
There were emotional scenes at Canberra Airport, as the Wikileaks founder kissed his wife and hugged his father, his lawyers watching on, visibly moved.
“Julian needs time to recover, to get used to freedom,” Stella Assange said at a news conference shortly after her husband arrived. Read more
UK prison officer ‘duped’ into ‘sham romance’ by love-bombing lag is sentenced (DailyStar)
A prison officer who was “duped” into a “sham romance” with a convicted rapist inmate attempted to smuggle drugs worth tens of thousands of pounds into jail for him and his cellmate.
Hannah Angwaba, 30, a “relatively new” and “very inexperienced” officer, was “exploited” by Anton McPherson, 34, who “love bombed” her in a bid to win her affection shortly after she started working at HMP Forest Bank, according to court proceedings.
She was then apprehended with a package containing cocaine, cannabis, miniature mobile phones, and tobacco concealed in the braids of her hair as she arrived for an afternoon shift at the Salford, Greater Manchester, jail. The court heard that she had discovered the previous night that the relationship was not genuine, and that McPherson had a girlfriend on the outside. Read more
Team Nigeria’s Olympic-bound wrestlers begin camping in Germany on Monday (Leadership)
Nigeria Wrestling Federation (NWF) has said that the oversea camping stage for its wrestlers’ preparations for the 2024 Paris Olympics will begin on Monday in Saarbrucken, Germany.
NWF President Daniel Igali revealed this to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) yesterday in Ibadan, saying the oversea’s training would follow the ongoing local camping in Yenagoa which will end on Sunday.“Preparations for the Olympics are in top gear. We’ve been in camp in Yenagoa for over two weeks, and training so far is going well.
“We have five Olympics-bound athletes and three training partners each in camp. Read more
Nico Ali Walsh: Muhammad Ali’s grandson ready to avenge only pro loss in Sona Akale rematch (SkySports)
Nico Ali Walsh hopes to take inspiration from his late grandfather Muhammad Ali to guide him to a redemption victory over Sona Akale this weekend, live on Sky Sports.
Ali Walsh suffered his first professional loss when Akale beat him by majority decision last summer in a close contest, with the two now clashing again on the undercard of Teofimo Lopez’s WBO super-lightweight title showdown with Steve Claggett.
The 23-year-old has won his two fights since that defeat and now wants to emulate his grandfather – who famously defeated Joe Fraizer after losing the initial bout – in bouncing back from a loss to win the rematch. Read more
Novak Djokovic undecided on Wimbledon, looks forward to Paris 2024 (UPI)
Novak Djokovic, who underwent knee surgery earlier this month, is still deciding on his participation for Wimbledon 2024. He also said he looks forward to competing in the 2024 Summer Games in Paris.
Djokovic made the comments Tuesday during an interview while attending Serbia’s Euro 2024 soccer match against Denmark in Munich, Germany. The Wimbledon 2024 draw will be held Friday in London.
“I haven’t decided yet if I’m playing Wimbledon,” Djokovic said, according to ESPN. “I’ll decide in the next few days. Thank God, the recovery is going surprisingly well. After Wimbledon are the Olympic Games in Paris, which I am especially looking forward to.” Read more
Chelsea set to sign Barcelona teenager Guiu (BBC)
Chelsea have reached an agreement in principle to activate the £5m release clause of Barcelona teenager Marc Guiu.
The Blues are ready to schedule a medical in London for the 18-year-old striker.
Barcelona are believed to have attempted to remove the modest release clause from Guiu’s contract by offering an extension. Read more
Barnabas Varga pictured in hospital for first time since suffering horror collision vs Scotland (Mirror)
Barnabas Varga suffered a fractured cheek after colliding with Angus Gunn in Hungary’s final group game of Euro 2024, with the striker now being pictured for the first time since the incident
Hungary’s manager Marco Rossi and his coaching staff, as well as player Endre Botka, have visited Barnabas Varga in hospital to pass on their best wishes.
Varga collided with Scotland keeper Angus Gunn in the second-half of his side’s win in their final Euro 2024 group game. He was knocked unconcious and rushed to hospital, where he was diagnosed with a fractured cheek. Read more
J.J. Redick confirmed as new LA Lakers coach (StraitsTimes)
Former National Basketball Association (NBA) player-turned-pundit J.J. Redick says he is ready for the challenge of taking the Los Angeles Lakers back to the pinnacle of the NBA, after being confirmed as the new coach of the 17-time champions.
Redick, who spent 15 years in the NBA as a player before joining ESPN in 2021 as an analyst, was formally unveiled on June 24 as the successor to Darvin Ham, who was fired following the Lakers’ first-round play-off loss to Denver.
His appointment to such a high-profile position, first reported last week, has raised eyebrows given his lack of coaching experience. Read more