National Theatre Lagos looted (Sun)
The Society for Transparency has petitioned the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over looting of national assets in the National Theatre, Iganmu, Lagos.
The petition, which was signed by the Corporate Director, Society for Transparency, Taiwo Osipitan, and addressed to the Chairman of the EFCC, Abdulrasheed Bawa, entitled: ‘Looting of National Assets in Disguise of Privatisation,’ was received by the anti-graft agency on October 15, 2021.
In the petition, the Society for Transparency alleged that the current mass looting going on in the National Arts Theatre showed that either the Ministry of Information and Culture or the National Assembly were not paying adequate attention to the brazen stealing going on there or they are complicit in the looting.
The Society for Transparency also said that one of the managers of the National Theatre’s claim that the board authorised him to sell the government property was false. Read more
NDLEA intercepts 2,060kg heroin, others at Lagos airport, Ondo, Edo, Kano (Tribune)
Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have intercepted over 2,060 kilograms of assorted drugs including heroin, methamphetamine, cannabis, tramadol, and Rohypnol in operations at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) Lagos as well as Ondo, Edo, Kano, Kaduna, Plateau, and some courier companies.
Femi Babafemi, spokesman of the NDLEA said, two consignments of heroin weighing 4.40kg and 550grams were intercepted on October 6 and 15 respectively at the cargo shed of the MMIA, Ikeja.
The first was seized at the SAHCO import shed of the airport when it was discovered inside bags of granulated sugar and flour from Johannesburg, South Africa via Addis Ababa to Lagos on an Ethiopian Airlines flight. Two suspects; Chukwuemeka Ugochukwu, a freight agent that cleared the consignment, and one Kabiru Aminu, a stock keeper that was to collect the cargo for onward distribution to recipients were arrested for further investigation.
In a follow-up operation on 9th October, one Adeoya Segun Joy who was to collect the luggage from Kabiru Aminu was arrested at Ajao estate while Enahoro Emmanuel Annointing who was also assigned to collect the consignment was nabbed in Abuleegba area of Lagos. Both were acting on instructions from their partners in South Africa. Read more
UTME: JAMB makes N400m from correcting errors in candidates’ names (Vanguard)
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, JAMB, a couple of years ago, made over N400 million from candidates who requested that their names be written in other manners apart from the ones they initially inputed while filling forms to sit for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, UTME.
The Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, JAMB, the body in charge of the exam, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, who disclosed this, said the supposed errors were intentionally made by such candidates who bought more than one form, and who hoped to present the results of the exam where they scored higher marks for admission purposes.
Oloyede stated this while delivering a lecture at the Faculty of Arts, Lagos State University LASU, Ojo, Lagos.
The lecture was titled “Normalising the abnormal: JAMB operations during the COVID-19 era.” Read more
Buhari unveils eNaira Monday, experts say e-currency beneficial, risky (Punch)
The President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), will on Monday unveil the Central Bank of Nigeria’s digital currency called eNaira, at the State House, Abuja.
The digital currency, which was to be unveiled on October 1, 2021, to commemorate the nation’s independence was abruptly annulled by the CBN.
The Director, Corporate Communications, CBN, Osita Nwanisobi, in a statement on Saturday, confirmed that the eNaira would be launched on Monday.
The statement was titled, ‘President Buhari to unveil eNaira on Monday, 25 October 2021.’ Read more
Don’t pay for electricity transformers, Omo-Agege Tells Constituents. (Leadership)
The Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, has urged his Delta Central constituents not to pay for electricity transformers installed in their communities by the Federal Government through his intervention.
According to the Delta Central lawmaker, the warning became necessary as some fraudsters were already swindling unsuspecting constituents to pay for transformers in their areas, dropping his name.
A press statement signed by Omo-Agege’s media adviser, Yomi Odunuga, on Sunday, cautioned those engaged in the fraudulent act to desist forthwith or face the wrath of the law.
“It has come to the attention of the Office of the Deputy President of the Senate, His Excellency, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, that some persons are compelling or tricking his constituents across some communities to pay various sums of monies or levies for electricity transformers installed in these communities by the Federal Government as a result of the purposeful intervention of the DSP. This is wrong, fraudulent, and totally unacceptable. Read more
Don’t amplify Nigeria’s problems, PFN urges Nigerians (Punch)
The Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria, on Sunday, in Abuja cautioned Christians against amplifying the country’s problems and challenges but to pray ceaselessly for the nation and its leaders.
“Christians should not amplify the challenges or problems of the country, but pray and fill the vacuum of worries and anxieties with prayers.
“God is showing mercy to our country and we shall prevail if we the people do not relent in prayers or give excuses not to pray,’’ PFN president, Bishop Wale Oke, said while giving the charge.
It was at the end of a three-day Anchor Men’s conference of the PFN themed “In His Presence.’’ Read more
4,000 participants to storm Ekiti for national cultural festival (Tribune)
The Ekiti State Commissioner for Arts, Culture, and Tourism, Professor Razaq Ojo Bakare, has disclosed that a total of 4,000 contingents are expected to visit the state as it holds the National Festival for Arts and Culture (NAFEST) 2021.
Bakare, who stated that the contingents would be drawn from the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory, said the cultural fiesta will expose the state’s vast tourism opportunities and cultural values as well as upscale its revenue earnings.
The professor of theatre arts who spoke in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital during a press briefing heralding the hosting of the NAFEST 2021, slated for 13th -20th of November, described the annual cultural jamboree as a flagship festival in Nigeria for the unification of the country’s diversity, which he said was conceptualised after the civil war for robust and enduring national integration.
Bakare said, “NAFEST has impacted greatly on trade and commerce, it has brought about innovation and creativity and promoted entrepreneurship. Aside from the fact that the festival has promoted self-reliance through job creation. Read more
Clean energy: FCT to spend N4.8b to replace street lights with solar (Sun)
In line with the Federal Government’s resolve to find an alternative source of energy for the country, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) has earmarked N4.8 billion to replace all the street lights in the city with solar energy.
As a long-term arrangement, FCT also plans to disband vehicles that are powered by petroleum products and replace them with electric vehicles.
This policy, according to FCT Minister, Malam Muhammad Musa Bello, will affect the public transportation more.
Bello who spoke at the weekend, during the 15th Meeting of the National Council on Environment, in Abuja, explained that these measures are taken to protect the environment which is under a serious threat. Read more
Bureaucracy, bottlenecks slowing $2.5b Nigeria-China currency swap (Leadership)
Importers from China have continued to trade in US dollars than convert directly to the Chinese Yuan despite the $2.5billion currency swap deal for at least 15billion Yuan (Renminbi) between Nigeria and China three years ago, LEADERSHIP Sunday investigations have revealed.
The deal failed to make the desired impact on the stability of the Naira, as bureaucracy and conversion bottlenecks slowed the utilization of the window by Nigerians, while the Chinese businesses preferred to deal in dollars.
With the three years for the initial agreement already up, feelers from the industry indicate that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) may not renew the deal since it failed to achieve the desired result.
Traders and importers, it was learnt, prefer US dollars as a medium of exchange in business transactions between them and Chinese companies. Read more
But first, champagne! Bubbly sales surge globally, edging close to pre-pandemic highs (RT)
Champagne sales are on the rise, surging back to numbers last seen before the Covid-19 pandemic and the ensuing lockdowns sent sales plummeting, as people were banned from throwing parties.
Champagne sales are on course to reach a four-year high this year, thanks to exports to the United States and Australia, French champagne wine growers lobby SGV said earlier this month. Sales between January and August soared 11.9%, even compared to the same period in pre-pandemic 2019.
At the time, French champagne houses shipped 297.6 million bottles globally. In 2020, however, the region exported only 244 million bottles, according to data from the Comité Champagne trade association. Turnover for the sector, which is France’s second-biggest export industry after aeronautics, showed a loss in profits of $980 million.
“The category was down almost 18% last year after declines of 2% in 2019,” an analyst from UK-based International Wines and Spirits Record (IWSR) told CNBC, citing the group’s Drinks Market Analysis figures. Now, based on the current increase, the firm expects champagne sales to grow about 4% this year, and continue the trend through 2025. Read more
Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Phillippe reunite for Deacon’s 18th birthday (PageSix)
Friendly exes.
Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Phillippe reunited over the weekend to celebrate their son Deacon’s 18th birthday.
Phillippe, 47, documented the outing via Instagram on Saturday, sharing a photo of the three happily sitting together at a table and getting ready to indulge in some cake.
“Happy 18th birthday to our gorgeous, smart, talented, and caring son. You are a true light in this world and are so loved by all who know you,” he gushed in the caption. “We are lucky to be your mom and dad. Love you, pup..(I’d say we did pretty good @reesewitherspoon).” Read more
Vaccines will get us through winter and out of pandemic, Boris Johnson says (Metro)
Boris Johnson has said the Covid vaccine will get the nation through the winter as he called for everyone to get jabbed and to take their booster shot when called.
The Prime Minister has resisted calls from health leaders for tighter restrictions despite infections rising sharply.
Health Secretary Sajid Javid said this week that new cases could reach 100,000 a day, but Downing Street insists there is still spare capacity in the NHS to cope with the pressure.
The Government’s ‘Plan B’ would see mandatory vaccine passports for crowded venues, the reintroduction of compulsory face masks in public places and a return of work from home guidance.
But the measures will only be put in place if the health service comes under ‘significant pressure’, and hospitlisations are still not near second wave levels. Read more
‘I want accountability’: Kobe Bryant’s widow reveals grief, harassment following helicopter crash (NBC)
In the aftermath of her husband’s death, Kobe Bryant’s widow repeatedly received disturbing images via social media of the helicopter crash that killed the NBA legend, their 13-year-old daughter and seven others, according to a transcript of Vanessa Bryant’s deposition in a lawsuit she brought against Los Angeles County.
The images were allegedly leaked by county employees and are the subject of a federal lawsuit filed last year by Vanessa Bryant against the county and several of its agencies.
Bryant, whose federal lawsuit alleges invasion of privacy, has claimed in court papers that she experienced “severe emotional distress” that compounded the trauma of losing her husband and daughter, Gianna. The lawsuit contends first responders, including firefighters and sheriff’s deputies, shared photographs of Kobe Bryant’s body with a bartender and passed around “gratuitous photos of the dead children, parents and coaches.”
“Nothing compares. Nothing’s close to this. I lost my husband and child. That was the worst thing imaginable,” she said in the deposition, recorded via videoconference earlier this month. Read more
Kellogg’s faces $5 million lawsuit for not having enough strawberries in its Pop-Tarts (USAToday)
Kellogg’s strawberry-flavored Pop-Tarts need more strawberries, according to a lawsuit filed against the company in August.
A class-action lawsuit, filed by Anita Harris in the Southern District of Illinois, argues that the Kellogg Sales Company is misleading consumers by promoting the breakfast pastry’s strawberry filling in its labels and marketing, giving an impression that the fruit filling contains “a greater relative and absolute amount of strawberries than it does.”
In reality, the company’s “Frosted Strawberry Toaster Pastries” contain 2% or less of “dried strawberries, dried pears, dried apples” and “red 40,” according to its nutrition label.
A class-action lawsuit argues that Kellogg’s is misleading customers with its strawberry Pop-Tarts.
Harris claims the Pop-Tarts “cannot provide a true strawberry taste” since it is overwhelmed by “significant amounts” of pears and apples, and says the red food coloring gives consumers “the false impression” that the pastries contain more strawberries. Read more
“Rust” tragedy reflects troubling trends on movie and TV sets (Variety)
The details of what went horribly wrong on the New Mexico set of Rust will be gathered in the coming weeks through multiple public and private investigations.
But as production veterans grappled with the tragic news that cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was killed October 21 in a gun accident on the set involving star Alec Baldwin, knowledgeable sources pointed to a number of concerning industry trends that are reflected in the behind-the-scenes story of the low-budget independent Western.
Inexperience among crew members: The huge spike in the demand for content during the past decade has stretched below-the-line talent beyond its breaking point. “In some places you can’t find qualified people for these jobs so you are taking (crew) with very little experience,” said a veteran producer.
Inexperience among producers: The low barrier to entry in producing for streamers who pay production costs upfront has allowed smaller companies and startups to attempt large-scale productions without adequate staff, skills or equipment. Among the seven production entities listed as backing “Rust” was Streamline Global, a company founded in 2017 to use films produced with production tax incentives as vehicles to create tax breaks for wealthy investors. Read more
24-year-old head armorer on Alec Baldwin’s movie set described as ‘a bit careless with the guns’ at previous job – media (RT)
The armorer who was preparing prop guns at the set of Alec Baldwin’s movie ‘Rust’ was reportedly seen doing her job in an unsafe manner on an earlier production, including handing an unchecked gun to a child actress.
Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, 24, was working her second production as head armorer when actor and producer Baldwin accidentally shot dead the film’s director of photography, Halyna Hutchins, and wounded director Joel Souza. It was later revealed that Baldwin was assured by his assistant director that the gun was “cold,” or safe to use, moments before he pulled the trigger.
A new report has suggested that while the young woman responsible for the prop firearms on the set was the daughter of a famed Hollywood prop master, she had a small, but already alarming track record.
“She was a bit careless with the guns, waving it around every now and again,” a source, who worked with Gutierrez-Reed on the upcoming Nicolas Cage flick ‘The Old Way’, told the Daily Beast. “There were a couple times she was loading the blanks and doing it in a fashion that we thought was unsafe.” Read more
Morelos nets 100th Rangers goal in comeback win at St Mirren (Punch)
Alfredo Morelos scored his 100th Rangers goal to help his side come from behind to win 2-1 at St Mirren and return to the top of the Scottish Premiership.
St Mirren had gone ahead after just four minutes through Connor Ronan’s spectacular long-range strike, only for the champions to turn the match on its head with two goals in the space of just a minute and 46 seconds.
The equaliser came after Alan Power caught Ianis Hagi just inside the area, with Kemar Roofe stepping up to convert the resulting penalty, before Morelos put the visitors ahead two minutes before half-time.
Captain James Tavernier broke clear down the right and from his inviting centre, the totally unmarked Colombia striker stooped to head home from six yards out to finally bring up his century of goals for the club in his 199th appearance. Read more
Ligue 1: Guessand’s late goal helps Nice beat 10-man Lyon (Punch)
Nice substitute Evann Guessand scored his first senior goal three minutes into injury-time to clinch a 3-2 comeback home win over Lyon in Ligue 1 on Sunday.
Guessand, who only turned 20 in July, was shown a yellow card for celebrating the crucial goal which also sent his side second in the table, eight points behind Paris Saint-Germain.
The visitors led 2-0 with 20 minutes to play after midfielder Houssem Aouar added to Cameroon striker Karl Toko Ekambi’s first half effort.
The home side’s comeback was sparked with nine minutes left as Algeria left-back Youcef Atal pounced to open his account for the campaign. Read more
Mason Mount accuses Thomas Tuchel of playing ‘mind games’ with him after Norwich hat-trick (Metro)
Mason Mount reckons Thomas Tuchel was playing mind games with him ahead of Chelsea’s clash with Norwich City, and it worked, as the England international scored a hat-trick in a resounding 7-0 win.
It was top vs bottom of the Premier League at Stamford Bridge and that’s exactly what it looked like as the Blues mauled the Canaries in brutal fashion.
Mount opened the scoring after just eight minutes and completed it after 91, having scored a retaken penalty six minutes earlier.
Callum Hudson-Odoi, Reece James and Ben Chilwell were also on the score sheet, as was Norwich’s Max Aarons with an own goal, as Chelsea clearly did not miss injured forwards Romelu Lukaku and Timo Werner. Read more
Gov Inuwa Yahaya gifts Gombe United FC new bus (Tribune)
In a bid to ensure that Gombe United FC performs well in the 2021/2022 professional football season, the state government has boosted the team with an allocation of N20m monthly and a brand new Tata luxury bus.
The gesture publicly handed over to the Club management by the State Governor, Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya over the weekend was aimed at boosting the morale of the players and officials who returned to Nigeria top-flight football at the end of the last season.
The club had remained in the lower league for the past two seasons but its recent promotion to the premier league has excited the Government and supporters of the club.
The Governor also gave a marching order for the upward review of the monthly subvention of the club from N12 million to N20 million with immediate effect. Read more
2 children killed, 8 people hurt in Texas ‘no-prep’ drag racing crash (USAToday)
A drag racer in Texas lost control of his car and slammed into a crowd of spectators, killing two young boys and injuring eight people, authorities said.
A 6-year-old died at the scene and an 8-year-old was rushed to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead a short time later, police in Kerrville said.
The car roared off a runway Saturday at “Airport Race Wars 2,” an event at Kerrville-Kerr County Airport, 65 miles northwest of San Antonio.
Four people were transported to hospitals by air ambulances, including a 46-year-old woman in critical condition, police said. Two people were treated and released at the scene, and two children, a 4-year-old boy and a 3-month-old girl, were taken by ambulance to hospitals for “precautionary evaluations.” Read more
West Indies captain Kieron Pollard hits out at ‘unacceptable’ batting collapse in T20 World Cup loss vs England (Metro)
West Indies captain Kieron Pollard has slammed his team’s batting display during their T20 World Cup defeat against England.
The Windies were bowled out for just 55 in 14.2 overs by an impressive England bowling attack, with Adil Rashid taking four wickets, while Moeen Ali and Tymal Mills both picked up two dismissals each.
England slumped to 39-4 in the run chase, but an unbeaten 24 from Jos Buttler guided them home by six wickets to kick off their World Cup campaign in style.
Despite suffering disappointing defeats in warm-up matches against Afghanistan and Pakistan earlier this week, the Windies were tipped by many to be one of the favourites to win the tournament.
But Pollard admitted that his team needs to improve drastically before they take on South Africa on Tuesday if they want to progress further in the 12-team tournament. Read more