Obasanjo is number one problem of Nigeria – Akiolu (Punch)
The Oba of Lagos, Rilwan Akiolu, has said former President Olusegun Obasanjo is the biggest problem of the country. Akiolu spoke at the public presentation of Battlelines: Adventures in Journalism and Politics, a book by a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, Chief Olusegun Osoba. The event held at the Eko Hotels, Victoria Island, Lagos and was attended by the Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo; Senate President, Ahmed Lawan; Deputy Speaker, House of Reps, Ibrahim Wase; APC National Leader, Bola Tinubu; governors in the South West, Bayelsa State Governor, Seriake Dickson, former governors, ministers, diplomats, traditional rulers, among others. Read more
‘Corps members no longer have lectures under trees in Anambra’ (Nation)
Anambra State Coordinator of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) Mr. Kehinde Aremu on Monday said corps members in the state no longer have their lectures in the open during their orientation course. Aremu dropped the hint while fielding questions from newsmen at the closing ceremony of the 2019 Batch “B” stream 1 orientation course at its temporary site in Umunya, Oyi local government area of the state. The coordinator had earlier identified lack of lecture halls as one of the major challenges facing the camp, a facility he described as critical requirement in the camp. Read more
NNPC, first agency to imbibe FG’s anti-corruption drive, says Baru (Punch)
The Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Dr Maikanti Baru, has said the organisation was the first to adopt an anti-corruption posture among all Federal Government agencies. Baru, speaking at his valedictory address in Abuja, on Monday, stated that he was made the chairman of the anti-corruption committee of the NNPC unexpectedly shortly after the erstwhile chairman passed away. The event was attended by the Governor of Ekiti State, Kayode Fayemi; the acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Ibrahim Magu; and past GMDs of the NNPC, among others. Read more
Navy uncovers over N11m worth of PMS in Lagos (Nation)
Operatives of the Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) BEECROFT have uncovered 3,181 25 litre kegs laden with Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) suspected to have been vandalised from Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation’s (NNPC) pipelines at Akaraba Island. The kegs which were discovered during a raid of the island by naval operatives on July 4, were said to have been concealed in makeshift structures built about 200 metres away from Inegbe Resort. Leading reporters to the island where the kegs were handed over to the NNPC, Commander NNS BEECROFT Commodore Ibrahim Shettima said the products were valued at about N11.5 million. Read more
Don’t distort history, Abiola gave permission to serve under Abacha – Osoba (Punch)
A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, Olusegun Osoba, has said winner of the June 12 1993 elections, late MKO Abiola, was in a meeting where it was agreed that members of his group could serve under military dictator, Sani Abacha. Osoba, who claimed to also be at the meeting, spoke during the public presentation of his memoir, ‘Battlelines: Adventures in Journalism and Politics’, on Monday in Lagos. The veteran journalist said former Lagos Governor, Lateef Jakande, was among those allowed to serve under the government. Read more
Why Nigerians can’t access loans from commercial banks, by CBN (Nation)
Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Monday said that many Nigerians are unable to access loans from commercial banks because they cannot distinguish between working and fixed capital. The apex bank added that many Nigerians also cannot access its many initiatives as they don’t have bank accounts. Director, Corporate Communications Department of CBN, Isaac Okorafor said this in Ilorin, the Kwara state capital at a two-day fair organized by the bank. Read more
Tribunal: I was asked to sign results or lose N-Power membership —PDP agent (Punch)
An agent of the Peoples Democratic Party, on Monday, Mohammed Tata, told the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal, in Abuja, on Monday, that he was forced to sign the result sheet for the February 23 presidential election in his polling unit in Jigawa State. Tata, the petitioners’ fifth witness testified at the instance of the Peoples Democratic Democratic Party and its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, who are by their petition challenging the victory of President Muhammadu Buhari and the All Progressives Congress. Read more
Sylva mocks Dickson’s airport in Bayelsa (Nation)
A former Governor of Bayelsa State and leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has challenged Governor Seriake Dickson to always make use of the Bayelsa airport since he claimed the project had been completed. The former governor spoke at the celebration of his 55th birthday, which was attended at the weekend by crowd of persons comprising his friends, political associates and supporters in Yenagoa, the state capital. Sylva said: “It is the people that make the state. So, if you come here and neglect the people that constitute your state then you are making a big mistake. Unfortunately for us, our government has not scored very high on empowerment of our people. Read more
Don’t reject corps members, Gombe Deputy Gov urges private sector (Punch)
Deputy Governor of Gombe State, Dr. Manassah Jatau, has pleaded with organised private sector to treat the posting of NYSC Batch B Stream 1 corps members with due consideration. He made this plea at the closing ceremony of the three-week orientation camp held at Amada temporary NYSC camp ground. The deputy governor who represented Governor Muhammad Inuwa Yahaya, said, “I would like to call on corps employers not to reject any corps member posted to them. Read more
Niger government makes Bobi grazing reserve a model (Guardian)
Niger State Government has reiterated its commitment towards making Bobi grazing reserve a model in the country. Alhaji Ahmed Matane, Secretary to the State Government (SSG) reiterated this in a statement by his Information Officer, Tanko Lawal in Minna on Monday. Matane was speaking during the commissioning of rotational grazing project in Bobi, Mariga Local Government Area of the state. Read more
DPR shuts 17 illegal LPG outlets in Ibadan (Nation)
The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) in Ibadan said on Monday that it closed down 17 illegal LPG skid in Ibadan and issued warning to nine filling plants in the second quarter of 2019. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Mr Oluyemi Olaonipekun, the Operations Controller of Ibadan Field Office of DPR, disclosed this in Ibadan on Monday while speaking with newsmen. Olaonipekun said the DPR carried out its operations effectively in monitoring the operations of Retail Oil Marketers (ROM), Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) retailers and depot operators. Read more
NAHCON launches suggestions, complaints portal for 2019 Hajj (Guardian)
The National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) has launched a Communication portal to receive meaningful suggestions and complaints with the aim of assisting pilgrims to the 2019 Hajj. The commission made the announcement on its tweeter handle (@nigeriahajjcom) in Abuja on Monday. It said NAHCON was giving pilgrims the opportunity to send their suggestions and complaints directly to the portal for immediate response. Read more
Bayelsa State-owned radio station back on air after fire incident (Punch)
Radio Bayelsa `Glory FM 97.1’ in Yenagoa which went off-air following a fire incident that destroyed its studios and broadcast equipment on July 2, has resumed test transmission. The General Manager, Dr John Idumange, made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Yenagoa on Monday. The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the Bayelsa Government-owned radio station returned to the airwaves on Saturday with uninterrupted music for several hours. Read more
DR Congo’s Bosco Ntaganda convicted of war crimes by ICC (BBC)
A former Congolese rebel leader has been found guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Fighters loyal to Bosco Ntaganda disembowelled babies and smashed their heads in, said judges at the International Criminal Court (ICC). In all, Ntaganda, nicknamed “Terminator”, was convicted on 18 counts, including murder, rape, sexual slavery and using child soldiers. He becomes the first person convicted of sexual slavery by the ICC. Read more
Wife of Chinese ex-head of Interpol sues over disappearance (Guardian)
The wife of the former Chinese head of Interpol, who disappeared in China in September, said Monday she was suing the international police organisation for complicity in his detention. Grace Meng, wife of Meng Hongwei, said she had filed a case at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, the world’s oldest arbitration body which rules on international disputes. In a statement sent to AFP, Meng said that France-based Interpol had “failed to protect and assist my family and it is complicit in the internationally wrongful acts of its member country China”. Read more
Choe In-guk: Son of South Korean defectors ‘moves’ to the North (BBC)
The son of high-profile South Korean defectors is reported to have moved to North Korea, in a rare case of someone seeking to settle in the dictatorship. Choe In-guk is the son of a South Korean ex-foreign minister who defected to the North with his wife in 1986. According to North Korean state media he will live in the North and work on reunification issues. Defections this way are very rare. It is more common for people from the North to try to escape to the South. Read more
UAE says reducing troops in war-torn Yemen (Guardian)
The United Arab Emirates said Monday it was redeploying and reducing troops across war-torn Yemen and moving from a “military-first” strategy to a “peace-first” plan. The UAE is a key partner in a Saudi-led military coalition which intervened in Yemen in 2015 to back the internationally recognised government of President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi against Iran-aligned Huthi rebels. “We do have troop levels that are down for reasons that are strategic in (the Red Sea city of) Hodeida and reasons that are tactical” in other parts of the country, a senior UAE official, who requested anonymity, told reporters. Read more
Georgian TV presenter’s anti-Putin tirade angers Russia (BBC)
The Kremlin has condemned a Georgian TV presenter’s crude tirade against Russian President Vladimir Putin. Mr Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said “we consider these insults totally unacceptable”. Rustavi-2 is Georgia’s main commercial TV channel. Presenter Giorgi Gabunia used offensive language in a Russian-language message to Mr Putin on Sunday. Rustavi-2 has apologised for his outburst. Separately, Russia has halted direct flights to Georgia amid worsening ties. Read more
Earthquake hits South west Iran (Punch)
A 5.7-magnitude earthquake in Richter scale struck Masjid Soleiman region in southwest Iran’s Khuzestan province on Monday, Iranian Seismological Center reported. The epicentre of the earthquake, which occurred at 11:30 local time (0700 GMT), was monitored at the depth of 17 km, 34.847 degrees north latitude and 45.762 degrees east longitude. Read more
Three arrested after woman found dead in London garage (Metro)
Three people have been arrested on suspicion of murder after a woman was found dead in a garage in south east London on Friday. The victim is feared to be a woman in her 50s who was reported missing in May but is yet to be formally identified. It was one of four murder investigations opened by the Metropolitan Police in the capital over the weekend. Read more
The Shard: Free-climber spotted scaling London landmark (BBC)
A free-climber has scaled The Shard, one of the tallest buildings in Europe. The man was spoken to by police after the stunt – at about 05:15 BST – but not arrested. Onlookers posted footage of the man, who is believed to have made the ascent without ropes or suction cups. Previous climbers of the 310-metre (1,017ft) London skyscraper include YouTuber CassOnline, who climbed from the public viewing platform to the apex in 2017. Read more
G-Eazy ‘desperate to play Elvis Presley in new movie’ (Metro)
G-Eazy is desperately hoping to take a brief break from the world of rap to play the King of Rock and Roll in an upcoming movie. Despite not being on the current shortlist (Harry Styles is reportedly among the names), according to TMZ, The Me, Myself & I performer would like to play Elvis Presley in a biopic of the artist that is in the works. Read more
Game Of Thrones star Maisie Williams is pretty in pink as she takes boyfriend on day out to Wimbledon (Metro)
Maisie Williams looked like she was having a blast as she joined her boyfriend Reuben Selby on a date to Wimbledon. The Game Of Thrones star held hands with her beau as they arrived at the tennis. Dressed head to toe in pink, the 22-year-old clashed an orange bag with her brightly coloured shirt dress, as she matched the outfit to her hair. Read more
AFCON 2019: Super Eagles will face tricky, tougher tie against Bafana Bafana — Disu (Guardian)
The former Technical Director, Nigeria Football Association (NFA), Olatunde Disu OFR, on Monday warned that the Super Eagles would face a tricky and a tougher encounter against the Bafana Bafana in the quarter-finals of the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Egypt. Disu gave the warning in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on his reflection about the crunchy and grudge match against the South African side. NAN reports that the Gernot Rohr tutored-side will on Wednesday face the Stuart Baxter-side in the quarter-finals duel in Cairo. Read more
Egypt fans bitter as Pharoahs crash out of AFCON (Punch)
Egyptian football fans reacted with anger and sorrow after the host team tumbled out of the Africa Cup of Nations in the second round, following a lacklustre run marred by a controversy over alleged sexual harassment. The defeat led to an immediate purge of Egyptian football officials and took the gloss off a high-prestige event that Egypt had volunteered to host at short notice after Cameroon was stripped of the competition. Read more
AFCON 2019: We are here to achieve what nobody believes we can do —Algeria coach (Punch)
Algeria coach Djamel Belmadi believes his team can win the Africa Cup of Nations title, even if nobody else does. While many coaches shy away from declaring their team to be favourites, preferring the old cliché that they will take each match as it comes, Belmadi has boldly declared that his side has set their sights on a first title since 1990. Their 3-0 demolition of Guinea on Sunday, arguably the best performance by any team at the tournament, fully justified the 43-year-old’s confidence. Read more
Manchester United’s ‘foreign contingent’ concerned by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s training methods (Metro)
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s training methods have reportedly irked a string of Manchester United squad members during the Norwegian’s first pre-season in charge of the Red Devils. The 46-year-old took a 22-man squad to Perth, Australia on Sunday and they touched down on the west coast on Monday morning to begin their tour of Australasia. Read more
Man City, Chelsea to host women’s games at Etihad, Stamford Bridge (Punch)
Manchester City and Chelsea will play their opening matches of the new Women’s Super League (WSL) season at the Etihad Stadium and Stamford Bridge respectively as the Football Association seek to build on the interest sparked by the women’s World Cup. City’s derby meeting with Manchester United on September 7 and Chelsea’s clash with Tottenham the following day will both be staged at the Premier League grounds with the men’s top-flight on an international break. Read more
15-year-old Cori Gauff’s Wimbledon run finally ended by Simona Halep (Metro)
Teen sensation Cori Gauff’s headline-grabbing run at Wimbledon finally came to an end in the fourth round as she was defeated in straight sets 6-3 6-3 by world No.7 Simona Halep. The 15-year-old is the youngest player to qualify for the Championship in the Open Era, and the youngest to make the second week of a Grand Slam since Jennifer Capriati in 1991. Read more
Top seed Barty knocked out of Wimbledon (BBC)
Australia’s world number one Ashleigh Barty has been knocked out of Wimbledon, losing her fourth-round match against American Alison Riske. World number 55 Riske fought back from a set down to win 3-6 6-2 6-3 in one hour 36 minutes on court two to reach a first Grand Slam quarter-final. French Open champion Barty, 23, had not dropped a set at the tournament. Riske will face seven-time champion Serena Williams after she beat Spain’s Carla Suarez Navarro. Read more