NCDC, states present conflicting cholera data (Leadership)
Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has said that 2,102 suspected cases of cholera and 63 deaths have been recorded across 33 States and 122 local government areas (LGAs) in the country.
However, some states named by NCDC have told LEADERSHIP Weekend that they have recorded no cholera outbreak, as the agency claims.
States whose health commissioners and other state officials denied cholera cases include Plateau, Taraba, Abia, Benue, Osun, Akwa Ibom, Jigawa, Kwara, Enugu, Niger, Borno, Delta, Kano and Kaduna. Read more
Edo: It’s not necessary to appeal ruling on PDP governorship primary (DailyTrust)
Pedro Obaseki, the campaign director of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate in Edo State, Asue Ighodalo, says it is not necessary to appeal the judgement which nullified the primary election that produced Ighodalo as the party’s standard bearer.
Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court in Abuja had voided the PDP governorship primary election in Edo State.
The ruling said that the election conducted on February 22, 2024, was voided on the ground that 378 delegates who were supposed to vote at the primary election were unlawfully excluded by PDP. Read more
FG to design 70% of Nigerian roads on concrete — Umahi (Tribune)
Nigerian roads on concrete
The Federal Government has said that it is transitioning from asphalt to concrete in the construction of highways across the country.
Speaking when he led federal legislators and top government officials on a tour of a plant of KAMSTEEL Integrated Company Limited in Jimba-Oja, Ifelodun local government area of Kwara state, the Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi, said that 70 per cent of federal highways are being designed on concrete to elongate their lifespan after construction and commissioning for public use.
“If you think of all the roads we are constructing in Nigeria, we are moving from asphalt to concrete for over 70 per cent of our roads. In fact, all the roads we are designing now are being designed on concrete,” Umahi said. Read more
Davido incapable of caring for Imade – Sophia Momodu says (Independent)
Sophia Momodu, the estranged baby mama of Nigerian artiste David Adeleke popularly known as Davido has accused the singer of using sex to get him to pay for their daughter Imade’s expenses.
In a recent lawsuit filed by Sophia to counter Davido, She claims to have solely taken care of Imade for the past two years.
Speaking on Friday before the Lagos State High Court in Sabo, Yaba, she claimed that the musician fulfilled his paternal duties by using her availability for his sex. Read more
Lagos hosts CLEAN-Air Forum 2024 to combat air pollution in Africa (Sun)
Air quality stakeholders in Africa will convene in Lagos, Nigeria for a five-day CLEAN-Air Forum to discuss the pressing issue of air pollution in the continent. The forum is expected to attract over 300 participants from over 40 cities in 40 countries globally. The participants represent the air quality communities in practice in Africa comprising different stakeholders including policy makers, representatives from civil society organizations, the private sector, development partners, and the scientific communities.
The event will take place from 8th-12th July, with the aim of fostering knowledge sharing, and trans-disciplinary collaborations while particularly emphasizing the need to strengthen regional networks and multi-regional partnerships for sustained interventions for clean air in African cities. Read more
Education minister intervenes in Lagos college tenure dispute (Punch)
The Minister of State for Education, Dr Tanko Sununu, has asked the Provost, Federal College of Education, Technical, Akoka, Lagos, Dr Ademola Azeez, to resume his official duties.
He said this at a reconciliation meeting between the provost and representatives of protesting workers of FCE(T) in Abuja.
A statement made available to The PUNCH on Friday said the pact resolved that the key to the provost office should be released to the Chairman of the newly inaugurated Governing Council of the college. Read more
First Lady Tinubu distributes palliatives to PWDs, orphans, less privileged in Kaduna (Nation)
First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, has flagged-off the distribution of palliatives to 2,400 less privileged residents in Kaduna State, including People With Disabilities (PWDs), orphanage homes, widows and women infected by HIV among others.
Tinubu, who was represented at the flag-off of the palliatives distribution by Wife of Kaduna Governor, Hajia Hafsat Uba Sani, said the palliative was designed to cushion the effects of economic hardship on the less privileged across the country.
The First Lady said the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration was working tirelessly to improve the economy of the country and therefore, it requires the patience and cooperation of the citizens to achieve the desired goals of delivering good governance to the people. Read more
Suspected herdsmen attack Amotekun operatives in Ondo (Channels)
Suspected herdsmen have attacked operatives of the Ondo State Security Network Agency, otherwise known as Amotekun Corps, in the Igoba community near Akure in the Akure North Local Government Area of Ondo State.
The herdsmen launched the attack on the Amotekun operatives while the latter enforced the anti-open grazing law operational in the state.
The spokesperson for the Amotekun Corps in the state, Jimoh Adeniken, confirmed the attack in a statement on Saturday. Read more
Shania Twain fans in tears as singer brings out 81-year-old superfan on stage at Lytham Festival (Independent)
Shania Twain has been praised for surprising an 81-year-old superfan during her show at Lytham Festival.
The country-pop star, 58, was performing at the festival in Lancashire on Thursday night (4 July) when she asked a local man named Ken Northall to join her on stage.
Twain then performed a special rendition of her 1997 hit song “That Don’t Impress Me Much”, swapping out Brad Pitt’s name in the lyrics for Ken’s. Read more
Emma Roberts blames ‘‘internet culture’’ for Madame Web‘s embarrassing box office flop
(Mirror)
Emma Roberts has blamed “internet culture” for Madame Web’s embarrassing box office flop.
The 33-year-old actress, who starred in the superhero movie alongside Dakota Johnson, Sydney Sweeney, Celeste O’Connor and Adam Scott, has finally spoken out about Madame Web failing to impress audiences and critics when it was released in February. The film focuses on Dakota’s character Cassie Webb, who eventually evolves into the Marvel Comics mysterious mind-reading superhero Madame Web. Read more
Jesse Plemons “never expected” to win Best Actor at Cannes Film Festival (FilmNews)
Jesse Plemons did not expect to win Best Actor at the Cannes Film Festival for his work in Kinds of Kindness.
The Game Night actor flew back to America after the film’s Cannes premiere in May to continue filming the Netflix miniseries Zero Day in New York City and he learned he’d won an award during the closing ceremony when he landed back home in Los Angeles.
“I hadn’t seen my boys in almost five weeks, so I landed on the news,” he told Variety. “It’s hard to put into words, but an incredible honour that I never expected to receive. I mean, the fact that it’s this group of jury members from across the world, it was incredibly special.” Read more
Entertainment world reacts to Labour landslide victory in UK General Election (NME)
The entertainment world has reacted to Labour’s victory in the UK general election after the party swept hundreds of seats across the country.
The landslide victory ended 14 years of Conservative rule, with Sir Keir Starmer vowing that “change begins now”. Upon entering Number 10 Downing Street this afternoon, the Labour leader also said that “a mandate like this comes with a great responsibility” and that the party’s task would now be “nothing less than renewing the ideas that hold our country together”.
Several music organisations have already responded warmly to the news, largely due to Labour’s Manifesto commitments to help break down barriers for artists touring in the EU, and implement a broader curriculum that includes music education. Read more
Reformist candidate narrowly leads hard-liner in early results from Iran’s election, state TV says (WashingtonTimes)
Early results from Iran’s presidential runoff election show reformist candidate Masoud Pezeshkian narrowly ahead of hard-liner Saeed Jalili, state television reported early Saturday.
The early results, reported by Iran’s election authority on state TV, said Pezeshkian leads with 2,904,227 votes trailed by Jalili with 2,815,566 votes.
Mohsen Eslami, the election spokesman, said the result came from 5,819,911 counted votes in 13,277 polling stations. Read more
Vatican excommunicates its former ambassador to US (VOA)
The Vatican has excommunicated controversial Italian Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, its former ambassador to the U.S. from 2011 to 2016.
Vigano, an ultra-conservative and a strident critic of Pope Francis, was found guilty of schism and was excommunicated, the Vatican’s doctrinal office said in a statement Friday. The Catholic Church considers schisms in the church as a dangerous matter because they can threaten the unity of the church.
Vigano has declared several times in recent years that he does not recognize the legitimacy of Pope Francis or the Second Vatican Council, a series of meetings in the 1960s that modernized the church. Read more
Danny Trejo responds to parade street fight: “I’m just sad that grown men gotta throw water balloons” (FarOut)
Actor Danny Trejo lost his temper during an Independence Day parade in Sunland-Tujunga, California on Thursday after being repeatedly hit by water balloons and was allegedly involved in an altercation. The Machete star has now responded to the incident.
The cult figure, famed for his roles as a street tough in many of his motion pictures, seemingly lost his cool after being pelted with the balloons by a group whom he later labelled “cowards”.
TMZ obtained video footage of the incident, showing Trejo riding in the passenger seat of a convertible when he was struck by the first water balloon. Not happy with being doused in full view of the parade crowd, Trejo exits the vehicle and seemingly confronts the person responsible. Read more
Infantino congratulates Enugu Rangers over NPFL triumph (Sun)
Italian-Swiss football administrator and FIFA president Gianni Infantino has sent a congratulatory message to Rangers FC of Enugu for their success in the Nigeria Premier Football League, Soccernet.ng reports.
Rangers International won the 2023–24 NPFL with one game to spare after beating Bendel Insurance 2-0 in their final home game of the season at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium, before travelling to defeat Gombe United 2-1.
Infantino, who has led the World Football Body since 2016, took to his Instagram story to congratulate the Flying Antelopes. Read more
Mo Salah leads tributes after Egypt winger Ahmed Refaat dies aged 31 (DailyMail)
An international footballer from Egypt has died at the age of 31.
Ahmed Refaat – who scored two goals in seven senior appearances for Egypt between 2013 and 2022 – previously collapsed on the field during a game in March.
Refaat was playing for Modern Future FC against Al Ittihad Alexandria in the Egyptian Premier League when he suddenly fell to the ground and was rushed to hospital. Read more
Rose Lavelle talks USWNT’s ‘‘growth’’ since 2023 World Cup as they aim for comeback at Paris Olympics (People)
Rose Lavelle has made a career out of reading defenses, but it’s her obsession with reading books that has her and her U.S. Women’s National Team teammates bonding off the field.
“We’re always recommending [books to] each other,” Lavelle, 29, tells PEOPLE. “Whenever I see Naomi [Girma] or [Emily] Fox, I’m always like, ‘What are you reading right now?!’”
Lavelle, who was selected to her second Olympic team last week, spoke with PEOPLE ahead of the 2024 Summer Olympics as part of her collaboration with Amazon’s Kindle. She, Girma, and Fox are among the USWNT players who are part of Lavelle’s book club — dubbed the “Kindle Crew” — who wind down during tournaments with books. Read more
Andy Murray’s Wimbledon career over after Emma Raducanu pulls out of mixed doubles (IrishIndependent)
Andy Murray has been denied a final Wimbledon match after Emma Raducanu pulled out of their mixed doubles clash citing stiffness in her right wrist.
There had been great anticipation about Britain’s two most high-profile players teaming up to give Murray a final swansong at the All England Club.
They were scheduled to play Zhang Shuai and Marcelo Arevalo in the fourth match on Court One on Saturday but Raducanu withdrew several hours before. Read more
Gatland says “it’s where we are” as Wales hit new low (BBC)
Head coach Warren Gatland says it is “just where we are at the moment” after Wales slumped to statistically their worst position in World Rugby’s rankings.
Wales’ new low spot of 11th means they have slipped outside the top 10 for the first time since the rankings were introduced in 2003.
The 25-16 defeat by Australia in Sydney was an eighth successive loss for Wales. Read more
Germany boss Julian Nagelsmann holds back tears and stings Anthony Taylor after Euros exit (Express)
Germany manager Julian Nagelsmann was bleary-eyed and croaky-voiced after watching his side crash out of Euro 2024 on Friday. Spain proved a task too difficult to overcome as Mikel Merino’s 119th-minute header sealed a dramatic 2-1 victory for La Roja after extra-time.
Die Mannschaft were fancied by many to win their home tournament, having reached Friday’s showdown without tasting defeat. And that made the result even more painful for Nagelsmann and his players.
“I’m fighting back tears,” the usually stern-faced manager told ARD. “When the players talk about the last few weeks, it’s emotional. A special time is coming to an end.” Read more
