MohBad: Naira Marley, Sammy Larry released from police custody (Punch)
The Lagos State Police Command on Friday, November 17, 2023, released controversial singer, Azeez Fashola, aka Naira Marley; and his associate, Balogun Samson, popularly known as Sammy Larry, after the duo met their bail conditions.
This was made known by the state Police Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin on Friday in a terse statement saying, “Naira Marley and Sammy Larry, having met their bail conditions, have been released.”
Hundeyin, a Superintendent of Police, made this known on Friday afternoon after the artiste and the socialite perfected their bail conditions granted by a Lagos State Magistrates’ Court. Read more
Organisation celebrates 1st Miss Nigeria at 93 (ThisDay)
The Miss Nigeria 1957 has celebrated the first Miss Nigeria, Chief Grace Atinuke Oyelude, on her 93rd birthday, Thursday November 16, 2023.
In a statement, the Chairman of Miss Nigeria 1957, Rita Dominic joined family members, friends and professional colleagues in celebrating the nonagenarian.
The statement reads in part, “We are immensely delighted to celebrate the evergreen beauty and brave leader, Chief Grace Atinuke Oyelude, on the occasion of her 93rd birthday. Her courage, resolve and great strength of character are excellent qualities that have endeared her to us and many others.” Read more
Pandemonium as EFCC, Air Force officers clash in Kaduna (Leadership)
There was pandemonium in Kaduna on Friday as officers of the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) and operatives of the Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) clashed over the arrest of fraud suspects.
According to eyewitnesses, Air Force officers barricaded the entrance leading to the EFCC zonal command office in Kaduna following the detention of some NAF personnel by the anti-graft agency.
However, providing insight into the incident, EFCC spokesperson, Dele Oyewale, explained that the “face-off” was as a result of the arrest of some suspected internet fraudsters, whom the NAF personnel had stormed the EFCC facility to demand their release. Read more
Tinubu cancels 40% deduction from varsities’ IGR (Guardian)
The Federal Government has announced the suspension of the planned deduction of 40 per cent from the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) of federal universities.
The Minister of Education, Tahir Mamman, who represented President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the 75th Anniversary and 2023 Convocation Ceremonies of the University of Ibadan, Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, held at the International Conference Centre, disclosed that the Ministry of Finance has been directed to ensure that the policy does not come into effect.
Tinubu reiterated the commitment of his administration to the education sector in line with the 2030 education agenda of the government and African Union goal 2063. He said: “We know that this law was enacted in 2020 and the circular was issued in 2021, but this is not a good time for such a policy. Read more
NSCDC averts pipeline explosion in Lagos community (Punch)
The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Lagos State Command, has averted an oil pipeline explosion that would have led to the destruction of lives and properties in Alimosho, Lagos State.
This is contained in a statement signed by the state command’s Public Relations Officer, DSC Oluwaseun Abolurin, on Friday.
Abolurin said that the incident also meant to vandalize the oil pipelines of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation in Liberty Estate and its environs, Alimosho Local Government Area, was averted on Thursday. Read more
Economic hardship: Sanwo-Olu stresses need for tolerance among residents (Vanguard)
Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has raised concerns over the global harsh economic realities, saying the economic pulse in Lagos is palpable even as he tasked religious leaders in forming a positive mental state among residents amid challenges.
Sanwo-Olu made the remark on the occasion of the Year 2023 International Day for Tolerance, themed: The Role of Religion in Engendering a Positive Mental State in the Face of current economic realities,” on Thursday, organized by the Ministry of Home Affairs, in Alausa, Ikeja.
The annual November 16 Day has been set aside by the United Nations General Assembly since 1996 to understand that tolerance is integral in society. Read more
Kano Guber: Appeal Court verdict temporary setback — NNPP chieftain, Oguntoyinbo (Tribune)
A Chieftain of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Comrade Olufemi Ajadi Oguntoyinbo has described the judgement of the Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja which sacked Kano State Governor, Abba Yusuf as a temporary setback saying the judgement cannot stand the test of time.
Ajadi who is set to pay a solidarity visit to Abba Yusuf in Kano, while reacting to the judgement on Friday, said the wish of millions of people of Kano will stand at the end of the day.
The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja on Friday affirmed the tribunal judgment which declared the All Progressive Congress (APC) candidate, Nasiru Gawuna winner of the governorship election. Read more
Singer Portable’s wife petitions police over claims of threat to life by DJ Chicken (Punch)
Omobewaji Ewatomi, wife of singer Habeeb Okikiola, aka Portable, has petitioned the Nigerian police over claims of threat to life and character assassination, amongst other claims, by Disc Jockey Ademola Abiodun, aka DJ Chicken.
In an Instagram post on Friday, Ewatomi, in her petition, claimed DJ Chicken tried to blackmail her with claims of having her sex tape. read more
Weah congratulates Boakai after Liberia poll (BBC)
Liberian President George Weah has called his challenger in the presidential race, Joseph Boakai, to congratulate him on his victory.
In an address to the nation he said “the Liberian people have spoken and we have heard their voice”.
The opposition candidate holds an unassailable lead of 28,000 votes with nearly all ballots counted. Read more
Dolly Parton releases “Purple Rain” cover, “Rockstar” album (UPI)
Dolly Parton has released her first-ever rock album.
The country music star, 77, released the album Rockstar on Friday after announcing the project in November 2022.
Rockstar features original songs and covers of iconic hits, including “Purple Rain” by Prince.
Parton collaborated with several of the songs’ original artists and other music artists on the album. Read more
How Laura Linney helped Courtney B. Vance after his dad died by suicide (People)
Courtney B. Vance is revealing how supportive Laura Linney is as a friend.
The Emmy-winning People v. O.J. Simpson star, 63, discusses in this week’s issue of PEOPLE the details of his father’s sudden suicide in 1990. Starring in “Six Degrees of Separation” on Broadway at the time, Vance leaned on his New York theater community amid his grief.
“Laura Linney, God bless her, she changed my life,” he remembers. “I came back from taking care of my mom, getting her affairs in order… and the whole company embraced me.” That included Linney, 59, then an understudy on the Vivian Beaumont Theater-set production. Read more
Eli Roth spent decades cooking up his horror movie Thanksgiving (EW)
Some kids dream of becoming pirates. Others fantasise about going to space. As youngsters, future director Eli Roth and his best friend Jeff Rendell were obsessed with the notion of making a slasher film set around the Thanksgiving holiday.
As Roth recalls, “We grew up in Massachusetts, where the Pilgrims landed. Thanksgiving, as you can imagine, is a massive deal there. We also came of age in that era of holiday slasher films, starting with Black Christmas and Halloween, but then My Bloody Valentine, April Fool’s Day, Mother’s Day. Every single holiday had a horror movie attached to it except Thanksgiving. So our dream was to make a slasher film around Thanksgiving.” Read more
‘‘Housekeeping for Beginners’’ lands January release date from Focus (THR)
“Housekeeping for Beginners” has set sights on North America. The Venice title will roll out on Jan. 26 in limited release, and expand in the following weeks.
The comedic drama from filmmaker Goran Stolevski won the Queer Lion Award at the Venice Film Festival, and is North Macedonia’s international Oscar submission title.
According to the logline, the film ” revolves around Dita, who, despite never aspiring to be a mother, finds herself compelled to raise her girlfriend’s two daughters—Mia, a tiny troublemaker, and Vanesa, a rebellious teenager. As their individual wills clash, a heartwarming story unfolds about an unlikely family’s struggle to stay together.” Read more
Israel says it will allow 2 trucks of fuel a day into Gaza (BBC)
Israel says it will allow two fuel trucks a day to enter the Gaza Strip, after pressure to do so from the US.
A US State Department official says around 140,000 litres of fuel will be allowed in every two days.
Most of that is intended for trucks delivering aid, as well as supporting the UN in providing water and sanitation, the official said. Read more
ChatGPT-maker Open AI pushes out co-founder and CEO Sam Altman, says he wasn’t ‘‘consistently candid’’ (PBS)
The board of ChatGPT-maker Open AI said Friday it has pushed out its co-founder and CEO Sam Altman after a review found he was “not consistently candid in his communications” with the board.
“The board no longer has confidence in his ability to continue leading OpenAI,” the company said in a statement Friday.
It has appointed Mira Murati, OpenAI’s chief technology officer, to an interim CEO role effective immediately as it begins a search for a permanent replacement. Read more
Osimhen makes final shortlist for 2023 CAF best player award (Leadership)
Super Eagles forward, Victor Osimhen, has been listed among the final 10 nominees for the 2023 Confederation of African Football (CAF) men’s player of the year award.
Ten players remain in contention for the topmost Player of the Year including last year’s winner, Sadio Mane of Senegal, Riyad Mahrez of Algeria, Mohamed Salah of Egypt, Cameroonian duo Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa and Vincent Aboubacar, Achraf Hakimi of Morocco and his compatriots Sofyan Amrabat, Yassine Bounou and Youssef En-Nesyri.
Osimhen is the only Nigerian who made the final shortlist across all categories of the award lists released on Friday by CAF. Read more
England 2-0 Malta: Gareth Southgate left frustrated by performance at Wembley in Euro 2024 qualifier (BBC)
Manager Gareth Southgate said his England side are “not where we need to be” after Friday’s 2-0 win over Malta – but refused to criticise the players because of the gruelling schedule.
Enrico Pepe’s own goal and Harry Kane’s 62nd strike gave the Three Lions victory in the Euro 2024 qualifier.
But Southgate’s team, who had already qualified for next summer’s tournament, produced an underwhelming performance. Read more
Evan Ferguson “very positive” ahead of Dutch game says Stephen Kenny (RTE)
Chiedozie Ogbene was emphatically ruled out of the Netherlands clash at the pre-match press conference, and while it is an obvious blow to Ireland’s chances, the manager must have known that he had little chance of playing in Amsterdam.
“Hasn’t trained, hasn’t put his foot in a boot properly,” said Stephen Kenny, when confirming his absence on the eve of the game; no doubt, the manager has been plotting a gameplan that has not included the energetic and exciting Luton Town frontman.
Evan Ferguson, on the other hand, was perhaps more concerning to the manager as he was another on the going-for-a-scan list at the start of the week, alongside Jamie McGrath, Ogbene and Will Smallbone, who has also been ruled out. Read more
F1 unapologetic on Las Vegas practice chaos (ABC)
Formula One has issued an unapologetic statement explaining the events of the chaotic opening day of track running at the new Las Vegas Grand Prix.
After a water valve cover came loose on the Strip and caused extensive damage to Carlos Sainz’s Ferrari, Thursday night’s practice schedule was significantly delayed and could not recommence until 2:30 a.m., after fans had been told to leave the circuit.
The detailed statement, issued jointly by F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali and Renee Wilm, CEO of the Las Vegas Grand Prix, explained the circuit repair process and F1’s reasons for fans being told to leave but did not offer an apology or details of whether Thursday ticket holders would be refunded. Read more
Former ATP Tour star welcomes 1st child (Tennis365)
Former ATP Tour professional Jack Sock and his wife Laura Little have become the proud parents of a baby boy named Brody Bryan Sock.
The couple announced the arrival of their son and called the newborn child the “greatest blessing” life has provided.
The couple, Sock and Little, who tied the knot in December 2020, revealed their pregnancy in July of this year. Read more
Andy Murray calls out CEO for “unfair” comment about ATP Finals star Stefanos Tsitsipas (Express)
Andy Murray has called out Thierry Guibert after the Lacoste chief executive lashed out at Stefanos Tsitsipas following the Greek ace’s withdrawal from the ATP Finals. Tsitsipas was only able to play three games of his clash with Holger Rune on Tuesday before retiring with a back injury.
Tsitsipas held his only service game during his clash with the Dane and forced two break points on his opponent’s serve. But after calling for the physio at the first changeover, he was unable to continue. Read more