New Naira: Confusion deepens as CBN deadline ends today (Punch)
Nigerians, especially bank customers, were gripped with confusion and uncertainty over whether today’s deadline by the Central Bank of Nigeria for the phasing out of the old naira notes still remains or it has been suspended following the Supreme Court injunction obtained by some northern governors.
The Supreme Court had on Wednesday ruled that the deadline should be suspended pending the determination of the case brought before it by the governors of Kaduna, Kogi and Zamfara States.
The court has fixed February 15 to entertain the case. However, the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN, in a response to the suit later on Wednesday, among other things, said the Supreme Court lacked jurisdiction on the matter. Read more
Old Naira Notes: FG ‘ll obey Supreme Court’s judgment — Malami (Vanguard)
The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr Abubakar Malami, SAN, has said the Federal Government would comply with the order of the Supreme Court for the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, to suspend its scheduled deadline for the use of the old N200, N500 and N1000 banknotes.
Malami, who had since filed a preliminary objection to challenge the apex court order, said the government would abide by it until it is set aside.
The AGF made FG’s position on the matter known when he appeared as a guest on Arise Television. Read more
Naira, Fuel Scarcity: TUC on alert, youths begin 14-day nationwide protest (Guardian)
Trade Union Congress (TUC) will begin to mobilise its members, students and civil society allies for appropriate response against current scarcity of naira notes if the situation does not improve by weekend.
President of TUC, Festus Osifo, disclosed this in Abuja, yesterday, while speaking on the unavailability of naira notes and Premium Motor Spirit (PMS).
Osifo said: “The leadership of TUC shall be monitoring the situation closely within the time frame of our ultimatum and will give further directive, should the situation not improve. All affiliate unions and state councils, civil societies, traders, students our allies, market men and women, religious leaders are, hereby, put on red alert.”
Osifo added: “We are interested in government taking steps that will assuage the suffering of the people. We don’t want to be seen as taking sides on both views that have been expressed so far. Read more
Jandor, a cameraman, can’t be Lagos gov – Fashola (Punch)
The Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, has taken a swipe at the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in Lagos State, Abdulazeez Adediran, popularly known as Jandor.
The former governor of Lagos said Jandor lacked the experience to govern Lagos, according to a video posted on Twitter by the state’s chief press secretary, Gboyega Akosile, on Thursday.
The PDP candidate, who worked with the state Broadcasting Service as a Reportorial and Editorial Executive, however, said handling
a camera was not his job description. Read more
Court orders stay of action on MMIA concession (ThisDay)
The Federal High Court sitting in Lagos on February 6, 2023, ordered that the planned concession of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos and cargo terminals be stopped, pending the hearing and determination of a suit filed by Sifax Group of Companies Limited challenging the bidding process.
The matter has been adjourned to March 29, 2023.
Sifax had filed a suit claiming that it was one of the 13 firms that submitted a bid for the contract after the third defendant issued a formal Request for Qualification, stating that no applicant is expected to bid twice for any of the specific assets under any guise or form, hence the suit against the Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami; the Federal Government; Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika; NAHCO Aviance Plc; Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission; TAV Airports Holding Company and GMR Airport Limited as first to seventh defendants. Read more
Buhari approves Transition Council, signs executive order no 14 (Channels)
President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the establishment of a Presidential Transition Council for facilitating and managing the 2023 transition programme.
The President also signed the Executive Order No. 14 of 2023 on the Facilitation and Management of Presidential Transitions.
This was disclosed in a statement by Willie Bassey, Director of Information for the Secretary to the Government of the Federation on Thursday. Read more
APC fighting for old notes to buy votes — PDP (Sun)
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has accused the All Progressives Congress (APC) of fighting the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for the retention of the old naira notes for the purpose of buying votes in the forthcoming elections.
This is as it disowned Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, on his intention to join the three APC governors of Kaduna, Kogi and Zamfara states in a suit challenging the CBN on the phasing out of the old currency notes of N200, N500 and N1,000 denominations with today as deadline.
The PDP said Wike, who is leader of the aggrieved G-5 governors, was on his own in the plot to join the suit as the leadership of the party has not authorized any of its members to challenge the CBN currency policy. Read more
FG approves licenses for 67 new broadcast stations (DailyTrust)
President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the establishment of 67 new radio and television stations in Nigeria as part of efforts to further ensure freedom of expression.
This was disclosed by the Director General of the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), Balarabe Ilelah, in Abuja on Thursday.
Ilelah, while reeling out the NBC’s scorecard under his watch, also noted that there are currently 740 functional broadcast stations in Nigeria. Read more
Rihanna says Super Bowl setlist changed 39 times, teases ‘‘weird’’ new music (Variety)
Rihanna’s highly anticipated Super Bowl halftime show will mark her return to the live music stage for the first time in nearly seven years. How is the global pop icon feeling about it? “It feels like [playing the Super Bowl] could have only been now,” she said during an Apple Music press conference ahead of the big show.
“When I first got the call to do it again this year I was like, ‘Are you sure? I’m three months postpartum. Should I be making major decisions like this right now? I might regret this,’” Rihanna said. “When you become a mom there’s something that happens where you feel like you can take on the world and can do anything. The Super Bowl is one of the biggest stages in the world. As scary as it was, because I haven’t been on stage in seven years, there’s something exhilarating about the challenge of it all. It’s important for me to do this year. It’s important for my son to see that.”
Rihanna said the biggest challenge in creating her Super Bowl halftime show has been nailing down a setlist. The show will run 13 minutes, but Rihanna has a career that spans eight albums and 17 years. Cramming all of that material into 13 minutes has been “difficult,” she said. Read more
Common takes trip down memory lane with ‘‘The Light’’ video breakdown for Hip Hop 50 (HipHopDX)
Common has opened up about the making of his iconic single “The Light” and the song’s video, calling it “one of the greatest” things he’s ever been a part of.
The Chicago MC is the latest to be featured in the ongoing VEVO Footnotes series, as part of a special collection of videos commemorating the 50th anniversary of Hip Hop. As fans revisit the 2000 video, which co-stars the rapper’s then-girlfriend Erykah Badu, Common’s thoughts appear as on-screen notes, hence the name of the series.
He starts out by sharing that, from a strictly musical standpoint, the song started with J. Dilla’s vision. Read more
Life-altering drug delivers incredible results in pancreatic cancer treatment (TheBrighterSide)
A small molecule inhibitor that attacks the difficult to target, cancer-causing gene mutation KRAS, found in nearly 30 percent of all human tumors, successfully shrunk tumors or stopped cancer growth in preclinical models of pancreatic cancer, researchers from Penn Medicine’s Abramson Cancer Center showed, suggesting the drug is a strong candidate for clinical trials. The study was published in Cancer Discovery, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.
“The results of this study are in stark contrast to anything we’ve seen before in pancreatic cancer,” said co-corresponding senior author Ben Stanger, MD, PhD, the Hanna Wise Professor in Cancer Research in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and director of the Penn Pancreatic Cancer Research Center. “Even in preclinical research models for this cancer type, most drugs tested within the last decade – including novel immunotherapies – have had limited impact.” Read more
Air Trailer: Ben Affleck and Matt Damon team Up again for star-studded Nike movie (HuffPost)
Ben Affleck and Matt Damon are reuniting on the big screen for the new sports drama “Air.”
In the film’s first-look trailer, Affleck and Damon team up as Nike executive Sonny Vaccaro, tasked with elevating the company’s brand, and Nike co-founder Phil Knight, respectively. In the suspenseful clip, Damon’s character deals with the issue of consumers not knowing “what the hell a Nike is.”
Set in the ’80s, the upcoming movie centers on Vaccaro’s risky gamble to partner with then-rookie Michael Jordan for a game-changing collaboration with Nike’s basketball division, which birthed one of the best-selling sneakers of all time — Nike’s iconic Air Jordan. Read more
Idris Elba opens up about Hollywood racism and why he “stopped describing myself as a black actor” (THR)
Idris Elba is getting candid about racism he has experienced in Hollywood and his reasons behind having a career in entertainment.
In an interview with Esquire magazine, published online Wednesday, the Luther: The Fallen Sun star said, “I stopped describing myself as a Black actor when I realized it put me in a box.”
“As humans, we are obsessed with race. And that obsession can really hinder people’s aspirations, hinder people’s growth. Racism should be a topic for discussion, sure. Racism is very real. But from my perspective, it’s only as powerful as you allow it to be,” Elba explained. “We’ve got to grow. We’ve got to. Our skin is no more than that: It’s just skin.” Read more
Alec Baldwin sued by Halyna Hutchins’ family over fatal “Rust” set shooting (Guardian)
The family of Halyna Hutchins, the cinematographer killed on the set of Rust, have filed a lawsuit against Alec Baldwin and others involved with the film.
The lawsuit filed on behalf of Hutchins’ parents, Anatolii Androsovych and Olga Solovey, and sister, Svetlana Zemko, accuses Baldwin and others, including the film’s armorer, of battery, negligence, intentional infliction of emotional distress and loss of consortium.
Baldwin, who faces criminal charges for his role in the 2021 death along with the film armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, has previously settled a lawsuit with Hutchins’ husband and son. This lawsuit is separate and aims to provide accountability and justice to her parents and sister, who depended on the cinematographer for emotional and financial support, said attorney Gloria Allred. Read more
Former US VP Pence subpoenaed by special counsel probing Trump (France24)
Former Vice President Mike Pence has been subpoenaed by the special counsel overseeing investigations into efforts by former President Donald Trump and his allies to overturn the results of the 2020 election, according to a person with direct knowledge of the event.
The subpoena to Pence as part of the investigation by special counsel Jack Smith was served in recent days, according to the person, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Thursday to discuss a sensitive issue.
The extraordinary scenario of a former vice president potentially testifying against his former boss in a criminal investigation comes as Pence considers launching a 2024 Republican presidential bid against Trump. Read more
Oduduru suspended for doping, risks 6-year ban (Punch)
Nigeria’s national record-holder in 200 metres, Divine Oduduru, has been suspended from competition indefinitely by the Athletics Integrity Unit over two anti-doping violations.
Oduduru, who now stands the risk of being banned for six years, has been charged with “the possession and/or use or attempted use of multiple prohibited substances.”
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the AIU is a disciplinary arm of the world athletics governing body, World Athletics. Read more
CAF confirms Guinea-Bissau, Nigeria clash for Morocco (ThisDay)
Following the inability of Guinea-Bissau to provide a good home ground to host the country’s return fixture against Nigeria’s Super Eagles in the on-going AFCON 2023 qualifying round of matches, CAF ruled yesterday that Morocco has been adopted as home ground for the Guineans.
The African Wild Dogs will host the Super Eagles on the 28th of next month in the Match-day 4 fixture. The first leg of the qualifying match will hold a week earlier on March 20th at the MKO Abiola Stadium in Abuja.
CAF had last weekend approved several stadiums to host the qualifying matches across the continent and only 24 of the 48 nations participating had their home grounds given all-clear signals to stage matches. Read more
Sam Kerr scores 4 goals as Chelsea beats West Ham to reach English League Cup final against Arsenal (ABC)
Sam Kerr has led Chelsea to the English League Cup final in emphatic fashion, scoring four times in a 7-0 demolition of hapless West Ham.
The Matildas skipper was bang on target yet again in the semifinal for the Blues, who will now meet London arch-rivals Arsenal for the silverware in the competition at Selhurst Park on March 5.
Kerr has been in prolific goal scoring touch for Chelsea this season, her quartet of goals bringing her tally to 20 in all competitions. Read more
Barcelona appeal to CAS over Araujo transfer, Galaxy eyeing a loan option (ESPN)
The situation involving the transfer of defender Julian Araujo to Barcelona remains mired in confusion, with the LaLiga club appealing to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in a bid to get the player registered.
Meanwhile, LA Galaxy manager Greg Vanney told ESPN that the organization remains in discussions with the defender about possibly being loaned back, though there are multiple obstacles that stand in the way.
The saga was thought to be over last week. On Jan. 31, the two teams agreed to a deal to transfer Araujo to Barca for $4 million, and play for the reserve team. Read more
”Emma Raducanu can come back and fight again”, says former No.1 (TennisWorld)
Emma Raducanu, the 2021 US Open champion, will be among the players taking part in the first edition of the ATX Open. She joins Danielle Collins, Sloane Stephens and Peyton Stearns in committing to play the Hologic WTA Tour 250 tournament from February 27 to March 5 at Westwood Country Club.
“We are delighted that Emma, the youngest Grand Slam champion in the game today, is coming to the ATX Open,” said Christo Van Rensburg, DropShot Series Tournament Director. “We look forward to having her join Danielle, Sloane and Peyton for our inaugural tournament, and we’re so excited to welcome them to Austin in less than a month.” Ranked World No.
150 entering the 2021 US Open, Raducanu had to pass three qualifying rounds to join the main draw. Her title was the first by a qualifier at a Grand Slam, and she did it without dropping a set in any of her 10 matches in New York. Read more
“He’s better at losing than most”: Veteran Mercedes engineer praises Lewis Hamilton for how he handles defeat (DailyMail)
Mercedes’ trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin has heaped praise on Lewis Hamilton for the way in which he handles defeat.
Shovlin has worked alongside Hamilton ever since the British Formula 1 driver left McLaren to join Mercedes in 2013.
Hamilton has gone on to win six championships with Mercedes – picking up the title in 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020 after previously winning the 2008 title with McLaren. Read more