New Oniru not known in Abisogun royal family – Kabiawu, family member (Punch)
A senior member of the Omowumi Abisogun Ruling House of the Oniru royal family, Prince Babatunde Kabiawu, who lives in the United States, bemoans the alleged usurpation of the monarchy, in this interview with TOBI AWORINDE
Can you describe the process normally used by the Oniru royal family in choosing the successor to the throne?
You are a Yoruba man and you know what entails before you can be installed as a traditional ruler. Before any Oba can be picked, there must be consultations within the family and each family might has up to three or four branches. Read more
Redevelopment of Lagos’ N2.8b fruit market begins in July (Guardian)
After a five-month delay, the redevelopment of the Ikosi-Ketu Fruit Market expected to gulp N2.8b would commence in July following the parties involved; the Ikosi Isheri Local Council Development Area, the developer and the traders, signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).
The Managing Director, Total Value Integrated Service Limited; the developer, Chris Onyekachi said the terms and conditions are favourable to all parties, promising that his words will be his bond.
“We are going to meet all the terms and conditions and regulations of Lagos State Building Control Agency. Read more
Suspected corpse abandoned on Lagos road for days (Punch)
There is a growing concern over a suspected corpse abandoned under the Berger Bridge on Isheri-Olowoora Road in Lagos State.
While it is difficult to ascertain whether the person, who appeared to be a middle-aged man, is dead or not, our correspondent observed that the body had been there for days with the condition deteriorating by the day.
On Wednesday when our correspondent called the Lagos State emergency number to notify them of the development, the official who answered the call said they had been notified and that those assigned to handle the situation were already on their way. Read more
Lagos to capture database of real estate practitioners (Guardian)
Amid growing concerns about unscrupulous activities in the real estate sector, Lagos officials have insisted that the coming on board of Lagos State Real Estate Regulatory Agency (LASRERA), will completely checkmate frauds in the practice.
Special Adviser to the Governor of Lagos State on Housing, Mrs. Toke Benson-Awoyinka said it is now mandatory for all real estate practitioners to register with LASRERA at a fee before they can practise in Lagos. She said this became necessary to capture and update a unified central database of real estate practitioners and their activities. Read more
Rumble in Aso Rock over withdrawal of Aisha Buhari’s aides (DailyTrust)
There is disquiet in the Presidential Villa, Abuja, following the withdrawal of security aides attached to the president’s wife, Hajiya Aisha Buhari.
The withdrawal of police officers attached to the office of the First Lady, including her Aide-De-Camp (ADC), Usman Shugaba, and Escort Commander, came after the Special Assistant to the President, Sabiu Tunde Yusuf, a nephew to President Muhammadu Buhari, was asked by Mrs. Buhari to respect the COVID-19 guidelines, following his alleged refusal to go on self-isolation after returning from Lagos.
The first lady’s encounter with the president’s nephew reportedly in the company of her children was said to have gone out of hand after the involvement of security personnel who shot into the air thrice. Read more
One killed, five injured as soldiers clash with COVID-19 committee (Punch)
One person has been confirmed dead with five others left with various degrees of injury after a vehicle conveying some soldiers rammed into a hilux in the convoy of members of Borno State COVID-19 Committee in Maiduguri.
The COVID-19 team, comprising the state Attorney General, Kakashehu Lawan, and the Commissioner for Health, Dr Salisu Kwaya-Bura, were on the enforcement of the interstate lockdown along Maiduguri-Damaturu Road when the incident happened on Saturday.
The soldiers were said to have come down from their vehicle and assaulted the COVID-19 team. Read more
Lone PDP Kwara Assembly member-elect hangs in limbo (DailyTrust)
Plenary activities of the Kwara State House of Assembly were disrupted a fortnight ago after a commotion over the refusal to inaugurate the lone Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) member-elect, Jimoh Agboola Raheem, as a member of the House.
The impasse which has expectedly generated curious reactions including legal and political tussles began after the Election Tribunal that sat following the general election had nullified the victory of the All Progressives Congress member-elect, Hassan Azeez Oluwanilo, and ordered that the INEC Certificate of Return earlier issued him be retrieved and given to Jimoh Agboola Raheem.
But the APC was not pleased with the tribunal’s decision and headed to the Court of Appeal which in December 2019 declared Agboola the winner of Ilorin South House of Assembly election and nullified the victory of Hassan Abdulazeez of the APC. Read more
Panic in Calabar over upsurge in malaria cases (Guardian)
Panic has gripped the city of Calabar and its environs, as hospitals and pharmacies recorded an unprecedented upsurge in malaria and typhoid fever cases, with an increasing demand for malaria and other related drugs.
This development has heightened speculations that Coronavirus may have found its way into the state.
A pharmacist, who pleaded anonymity, said: “Since we started this business of drug selling 20 years ago, we have not made so many sales in malaria, vitamin c and other related drugs, as we have done this period. Some persons are suspecting COVID-19, but I don’t know.” Read more
Excitement as FG revives Nigeria’s biggest yam market (DailyTrust)
Cross view of Zaki Biam Yam Market It was indeed an excitement of no small measure on June 9, 2020 when Vice President Yemi Osinbajo commissioned the upgraded Zaki Biam International Yam Market in Ukum Local Government Area of Benue State.
The market, believed to be not only the largest yam market in the country but in the entire sub-Saharan Africa, has all species of yam, including the 10 best known in the state.
Among the facilities also commissioned by the vice president were 6000 units renovated stalls/sheds, a newly-built police station and the market administrative building as well as eight units of toilet. Read more
Argentina church transformed into a bar, pastors into waiters to protest coronavirus lockdown measures (RT)
Pastor Daniel Cattaneo has reportedly reopened his church as a bar in order to comply with Argentina’s Covid-19 lockdown measures, which he says “discriminate” against religious services.
Cattaneo and other pastors dressed as waiters this week and served their congregation while preaching, a clever way around current lockdown measures which, despite being eased back since Monday, still restrict church services from having more than 10 people while other businesses can reopen at 30-percent capacity, according to local media.
Social distancing measures were kept up and members of the congregation wore masks while pastors donning aprons walked around with trays serving bibles in San Lorenzo’s “worship bar.” Read more
Woman hatches ducks from supermarket eggs (BBC)
A woman has hatched three ducklings called Beep, Peep and Meep from eggs she bought in Waitrose.
Charli Lello, 29, from Hertfordshire, put the Clarence Court eggs in an incubator as an experiment to pass the time after being furloughed.
She said the ducklings would live “a very happy life” with her pet chickens.
A Waitrose spokesman said fertilised eggs were safe to eat and “entirely indistinguishable” from normal eggs, unless incubated. Read more
Surprise found in Jefferson Davis statue being removed in Kentucky (NYPost)
Nothing like a little bourbon when you’re putting up a statue.
Workers removing a statue of Civil War Gen. Jefferson Davis from the Kentucky state capitol in Frankfort Saturday discovered unexpected artifacts hidden inside the base: a bottle of Glenmore Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, and a copy of the State Journal newspaper from Oct. 20, 1936, the day the statue was erected.
One local report suggested the bottle may have held a piece of paper but others said the vessel was empty. Read more
4 EU countries sign deal for up to 400 million Oxford Covid-19 vaccines (RT)
Four EU countries have signed a contract with pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca to produce enough Oxford University vaccines to rid the continent of Covid-19 infections, the Italian health minister said.
Under the agreement, British-Swedish pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca will produce up to 400 million doses of the vaccine, which is enough for “the whole population of Europe,” Roberto Speranza wrote on Facebook.
The minister said that trials for the vaccine, which was developed by Oxford University, are set to be completed this fall, and the first doses will be available by the end of the year. Read more
Coronavirus: Boris Johnson launches review into 2m social distancing rule (BBC)
Boris Johnson has commissioned a review into the 2m (6ft) social distancing rule, following calls to scrap it.
Businesses and some of Mr Johnson’s own MPs have warned that large parts of the hospitality industry will not be viable with the 2m coronavirus rule in place.
The review will aim to be completed by 4 July, when pubs and restaurants could open at the earliest in England. Read more
Newly discovered Madagascar arachnid named after teen climate activist (RT)
Swedish environmental activist Greta Thunberg now has an entire genus of spider and a newly discovered species belonging to it, named after her. The arachnids are unusual in that they don’t spin webs to catch their prey.
The naming honor comes courtesy of veteran German arachnologist Peter Jager, who described the discovery in in the scientific journal Zootaxa.
The new species, Thunberga greta, was found in Madagascar. Read more
You can block YouTube ads by adding just one symbol to the URL (Metro)
A tech-savvy user on Reddit has uncovered a way to bypass the adverts on YouTube videos as well as circumvent various paywalls on news sites. The trick involves simply adding a full stop after the domain name in the URL. So, for example – http://www.youtube.com/randomvideo becomes http://www.youtube.com./randomvideo and the latter will load without adverts. Apparently, the hack only works on desktop browsers and is due to larger websites using different hosting domains for ads and content. Read more
Ajayi eager for football restart (Punch)
Super Eagles and West Brom defender, Semi Ajayi, says he is hungry for football action after playing 90 minutes in his team’s 1-0 win over Manchester United in a friendly game on Friday.
Both teams took part in their final tune-up games before the restart of football in England,
West Brom won 2-1 in their fixture, while United were victorious 3-1 in the other match. With the Premier League set to resume on June 17, while the championship starts June 20. Read more
MKO Abiola National stadium is functional, says Dare (DailyTrust)
The Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Mr Sunday Dare has declared that the MKO Abiola National Stadium, Abuja is functional and ready to be used for competitions. Speaking on the sidelines during the renaming and unveiling of the signage of the stadium said contrary to assertions that the stadium was rotting away, Dare said all the sporting facilities within the stadium were functional.
“This is a functional facility and again I say that the grass growing outside is not functionality. Functionality is that there is light in the stadium, there is water, the facilities are working, the indoor sports hall is fixed, and the velodrome has been approved by international bodies to host cycling events in Africa. Read more
Djokovic slammed for ignoring coronavirus warnings to host packed tennis tournament (RT)
Having described health precautions planned for this year’s US Open as “extreme” and criticised the concept of vaccines, world number one tennis player Novak Djokovic has sparked outrage by hosting a packed tournament in Belgrade.
The outspoken opponent of vaccination campaigns was pictured welcoming players to his Adria Tour competition at the airport, hugging them during an accompanying football match, dancing at a piano in front of thousands of fans who had filled the seats at his tennis club and embracing his rivals in press photos while much of the world continues to observe social distancing. Read more
Messi scores as Barcelona return with win (BBC)
Barcelona scored 66 seconds into their return to action as Lionel Messi completed a comfortable 4-0 win at Mallorca in La Liga.
Arturo Vidal headed the opener and former Middlesbrough striker Martin Braithwaite added his first for the club before the break.
Luis Suarez came off the bench to make his first appearance since early January and Jordi Alba made it 3-0. Read more
One Hip Wonder’ Andy Murray learns opponents for Battle of the Brits (Metro)
Andy Murray will face James Ward, Liam Broady and Kyle Edmund upon his return to tennis at the Battle of the Brits but he has swerved what he described as the ‘group of death’.
The two-time Wimbledon champion has not played competitive tennis since November but is set to return to action on June 23 at the National Tennis Centre in Roehampton. His brother, Jamie, has organised the Battle of the Brits and was on hand to run a low key draw on Friday afternoon – where the younger brother was dubbed the ‘One Hip Wonder’. Read more
PGA Tour: Xander Schauffele leads with Justin Rose and Rory McIlroy in contention at Colonial (BBC)
American Xander Schauffele takes a one-shot lead into Sunday’s final round of the Charles Schwab Challenge in Texas.
Schauffele birdied the last for a four-under 66 to move to 13 under and jump clear of five players on a congested leaderboard at Colonial Country Club.
Justin Thomas, Jordan Spieth, Gary Woodland and Collin Morikawa and South Africa’s Branden Grace are 12 under. Read more