No man’s land: Rhodes Vivour cautions Obasa against divisive laws (Punch)
The Labour Party governorship candidate in Lagos state for the 2023 election, Gbadebo Rhodes Vivour has condemned the comments made by Rt. Hon Mudasiru Obasa, Speaker of the state House of Assembly that the house will make laws to protect the property right of indigenes.
He cautioned the Speaker against laws that will divide Lagos residents along ethnic lines.
He warned that any enacted law that seeks to reverse property rights in favour of the indigenous people of Lagos state at the expense of other residents is divisive and not in the economic interest of Lagos. Read more
INEC ad hoc officers allege difficulty in uploading presidential election results (Guardian)
Two subpoenaed Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) ad hoc officers said the election umpire had difficulty uploading presidential results during the February 25 election.
The officers, Friday Egwuma and Grace Timothy, who testified as subpoenaed witnesses before the presidential election petition court (PEPC) made this known on Thursday.
In a petition marked CA/PEPC/05/2023, Abubakar Atiku and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are challenging the outcome of the Feb.25 presidential election which brought Tinubu as the winner. Read more
10th Assembly: Wase, Jaji absent as Tinubu meets lawmakers, APC govs (DailyTrust)
As the inauguration of the 10th Assembly draws closer, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has met with the All Progressives Congress (APC) senators-elect, members-elect, APC governors and leaders of the party over leadership election issues.
The meeting was held at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, Wednesday night after the winding down of the 9th Assembly earlier in the day.
Aspirants for the Speakership, Muktar Betara, Yusuf Adamu Gagdi, Miriam Onuoha and Sada Soli attended the meeting. Read more
Sanwo-Olu reappoints Chief of Staff, others (Punch)
The Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has announced his first appointments since inauguration for a second term in office.
The governor re-appointed his former Chief of Staff, Mr. Tayo Ayinde, and Deputy Chief of Staff, Gboyega Soyannwo, to their former roles.
Sanwo-Olu also appointed Bimbo Salu-Hundeyin as the Secretary to the State Government. Read more
Lagos Assembly will pass new property, business ownership laws – Obasa (Vanguard)
The Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Hon. Mudashiru Obasa said the state parliament will pass new property, and business ownership laws in the state.
Obasa stated this in his acceptance speech as a third-term speaker of the Lagos parliament and the inauguration of the 10th Lagos assembly on Tuesday.
Recall that many residents of Lagos were allegedly divided along ethno-political and religious lines during the last 2023 general elections. Read more
We don’t believe there is subsidy – ASUU (Channels)
The President of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) Professor Emmanuel Osodeke says the country’s apex academic body does not believe there is fuel subsidy in the country.
President Bola Tinubu had at his inauguration announced that “subsidy is gone,” sparking a hike in price and shortage of the product across the country.
While the government had before then repeatedly said it can no longer fund the payment of subsidy, the ASUU chief who spoke at the Alex Ekweme Federal University, Ndufu-Alike, Ikwo in Ebonyi State wondered how Nigeria can be exporting crude oil but cannot refine the same. Read more
Years after, Nigerian Navy set to refit Flag Ship, Aradu (Guardian)
As part of the fleet recapitalisation effort of the Nigerian Government, the Nigerian Navy (NN) on Tuesday, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Dearsan Shipyard Turkey to remodel the Nigeria Navy Ship (NNS) ARADU.
NNS Aradu (F89) (meaning “thunder” in Hausa) is a Nigerian frigate. She is the first of the MEKO 360 general-purpose frigates built by the German Blohm + Voss company of Hamburg.
The 125.6-metre (412 ft 1 in) ship is the largest in the Nigerian Navy. As a general-purpose frigate, Aradu has capabilities for anti-air, anti-surface and anti-submarine warfare effectively, and participated in the 200th-anniversary celebrations of the Battle of Trafalgar. Read more
Mbah seeks constructive partnership with 8th Enugu Assembly members-elect (Independent)
Enugu State Governor Peter Ndubuisi Mbah on Thursday sought constructive partnership with the 24 Members-elect of the State House of Assembly to accelerate development and render utmost service to the people of the state.
Governor Mbah who spoke while declaring open a two-day pre-inauguration workshop for the 8th Assembly Members-elect at Nike Lake Resort, Enugu, assured them that his administration would do what it takes to ensure that the constructive partnership in the service of the people of the state will be sustained.
Represented by his deputy, Barr. Ifeanyi Ossai, the governor disclosed that he is making every effort to infuse the executive arm of government with the intellectual energy needed to deliver on his mandate, and fulfill his campaign promises to the people of the state. Read more
Tupac gets Hollywood Walk of Fame star as sister holds back tears in heartfelt tribute (DailyStar)
Tupac Shakur’s sister shared a heartfelt tribute after the late rapper received a posthumous star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
The American rapper, who died in September 1996 aged 25, was commemorated on Wednesday (June 7) in Hollywood as a group of the artist’s close friends, family, and supporters attended the big reveal.
Tupac, whose discography included “All Eyez on Me” and “Hit Em Up”, became the 2,758th person to get a star on Hollywood Boulevard, and his proud sister was overwhelmed with emotion as she delivered a speech to the crowd. Read more
Woman completely stops doing housework after husband tells her she does nothing (LADBible)
A woman decided to stop doing any housework after her husband told her she did nothing around the house and posted the results to TikTok.
TikToker @lindsaydonnelly2 decided to cook up some revenge after her husband said that she didn’t do anything around the house.
So she decided to stop doing any housework for a couple of days and posted the results online. Read more
US State Department condemns Roger Waters’ “long track record of using antisemitic tropes” (LouderSound)
The US State Department has joined the long list of those criticising Roger Waters for the Nazi-style uniform he’s regularly worn onstage since the release of “The Wall” in 1980, and the alleged use of antisemitic tropes in his show.
The State Department’s condemnation of the former Pink Floyd man came in a written response to a question posed at a State Department press briefing earlier this week, when a reporter asked if the administration agreed with criticism of Rogers from Deborah Lipstadt, the United States Special Envoy for Monitoring and Combating Anti-Semitism.
Lipstadt had quote-tweeted a post denouncing Waters from EU antisemitism envoy Katharina von Schnurbein after two Berlin shows last month. Von Schnurbein wrote, “I am sick and disgusted by Roger Waters’ obsession to belittle and trivialise the Shoah and the sarcastic way in which he delights in trampling on the victims, systematically murdered by the Nazis. In Germany. Enough is enough.” Read more
New York smoke: Jodie Comer halts Broadway show due to breathing difficulties (Sky)
Jodie Comer was forced to halt a matinee performance during a Broadway show after experiencing breathing difficulties due to polluted air caused by wildfires in Canada.
The one-woman play Prima Facie was halted approximately 10 minutes in, after the 30-year-old actor from Liverpool began coughing and telling a stage manager she could not breathe.
It came as thick smoke poured into the US East Coast and Midwest from Canada, causing hazardous levels of pollution. Read more
Tom Holland taking a year off after filming “The Crowded Room” (USAToday)
Following the filming of his latest series, Tom Holland announced he plans to take a year off of acting.
The actor starred and executive produced in the psychological thriller series “The Crowded Room,” which premieres June 9 on Apple TV+. He told Extra in an interview the role was a “tough time,” and the show had him exploring some emotions he had never experienced before.
“The show did break me,” he said in the interview. “There did come a time where I was like ‘I need to have a break,’ and I disappeared, I went to Mexico for a week, had some time on a beach and lay low. I’m now taking a year off, and that is the result of how difficult this show was.” Read more
Ian Paisley invites Kiss front man to House of Commons (RTE)
Kiss star Gene Simmons said he witnessed “controlled chaos” during his “insane” visit to the Houses of Parliament to watch Prime Minister’s Questions.
The singer and bassist, in the UK for the band’s End Of The Road tour, was a guest of DUP MP Ian Paisley (North Antrim) and received a private tour before making his first trip into the Commons chamber.
Simmons described Parliament as “hallowed ground” in terms of democracy and was left in awe of the history of the building. Read more
Donald Trump told he could face charges over classified documents (BBC)
Donald Trump has been told he is a target of a criminal investigation over the potential mishandling of classified files after he left the White House.
A move by federal prosecutors to notify the ex-president of a criminal probe suggests he could soon face charges.
If that happened, it would be the second indictment of Mr Trump, who is campaigning once again to be president.
Prosecutors have been looking into the transfer of files to Mr Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Florida estate since last year. Read more
Iwobi joint-top player with most nutmegs in EPL (Punch)
In statistics published by data and analytics company, StatsBomb, Everton midfielder Alex Iwobi and Nottingham Forest’s Morgan Gibbs-White are joint top players who are most proficient at threading the ball through an opponent’s legs in the recently concluded 2022/23 Premier League season, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.
Iwobi was a key player for the Toffees last season as they, for the second time in two seasons, battled hard to survive relegation.
The Nigerian featured in all 38 Premier League games for Everton last season, scoring two goals and providing eight assists. Read more
Defaulted in doubles, Miyu Kato wins mixed title at French Open (ESPN)
Miyu Kato left behind the disappointment of her controversial disqualification in doubles by claiming the mixed doubles title at the French Open on Thursday.
Playing with Tim Puetz of Germany, the pair defeated 2019 US Open singles champion Bianca Andreescu of Canada and Michael Venus of New Zealand 4-6, 6-4, 10-6.
Kato, 28, of Japan, and her women’s doubles partner were defaulted during their third-round match last week after Kato accidentally hit a ball girl in the neck after a point. Read more
Osimhen to battle Mahrez, Salah at Ghana Football Awards (Guardian)
Victor Osimhen has been nominated alongside Mohamed Salah and Riyad Mahrez for the Ghana Football Awards.
The three shortlisted players were posted on the Ghana Football Awards Twitter handle.
Osimhen will battle with Salah and Mahrez in the Best African International category. Read more
Lionel Messi’s move to Inter Miami sends ticket prices soaring 1,034% (StraitsTimes)
Lionel Messi’s announcement that he plans to take his talents to South Beach sent prices for Inter Miami tickets on the secondary market into the stratosphere on Wednesday, as fans clamoured for a chance to see the Argentinian great play in the United States.
The cost of tickets surged following reports early on Wednesday that he planned to join the David Beckham-owned Major League Soccer (MLS) side, which he later confirmed.
The forward’s first game could be on July 21 when Miami hosts Cruz Azul in their Leagues Cup opener in Fort Lauderdale. Read more
Indonesian stadium disaster families continue fight for justice (AlJazeera)
When two police officers involved in the Kanjuruhan Stadium crush walked free from a Surabaya courtroom two months ago, Indonesians were outraged.
Families of the 135 people who died when police fired tear gas at supporters at the end of a football match in the city of Malang in East Java last October had hoped those on the field would be held accountable for the decisions they made that night, especially after an official report concluded: “Tear gas was the main cause of deaths, injuries and trauma in the Kanjuruhan humanitarian tragedy.”
The National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) report, which was commissioned by the government and released in November, argued there were two ways in which the tear gas probably killed those inside the stadium. Read more
Mercedes reveal true cause behind Hamilton-Russell Barcelona contact (PlanetF1)
Mercedes trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin has explained the “miscommunication” that caused George Russell and Lewis Hamilton to make contact in qualifying in Barcelona at the weekend.
Now the dust has settled on the weekend, the team have analysed what happened between their two drivers when Russell appeared to move across on Hamilton on the pit straight as they both started flying laps.
The Mercedes duo made contact, with Hamilton stating Russell’s move across track was “really dangerous” – and Russell and Mercedes were duly given a formal warning by the FIA after the 25-year-old claimed he was not told Hamilton was approaching behind. Read more