Oluwo, Elegushi laud Ambode over Muri-Okunola’s appointment (Punch)
The Oluwo of Iwo, Oba Abdulrasheed Akanbi and the Elegushi of Ikateland,Oba Saheed Elegushi, have commended Governor Akinwumi Ambode on the appointment of Mr Hakeem Muri-Okunola as the new Head of Service of Lagos State civil service. The two monarchs gave the commendation in a statement made available to our correspondent in Lagos on Tuesday. The two monarchs jointly said the choice of Muri-Okunola was a round peg in a round hole, describing the new HOS as a seasoned civil servant, that is very familiar with the challenges facing the civil service and how to reposition it for a better service delivery. Read more
Atiku to Buhari: 90m Nigerians living in extreme poverty (Nation)
Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Atiku Abubakar has accused President Muhammadu Buhari of having nothing to show for steering the ship of the nation for about four years. He said 90 million Nigerians live in extreme poverty under his watch. Atiku took on the President over his remarks at the kick-off of his presidential campaign in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital, on December 28, where he declared that he had fulfilled his promises to Nigerians. The former vice president, reminded the President that a day before he made the declaration, it was revealed that the number of Nigerians living in extreme poverty had increased from 87 million to 90 million in just four months. Read more
PDP is creating insecurity, Atiku killed power sector –APC (Punch)
The All Progressives Congress has accused the Peoples Democratic Party and its cronies within and outside government of causing insecurity in Nigeria and propagating falsehood. The ruling party said the grand plot was to create an atmosphere similar to 2014 and 2015 when terrorists seized parts of the country and hoisted their flags. The party, however, said President Muhammadu Buhari-led government would not surrender to their evil plans, urging Nigerians to reject the PDP in the 2019 general elections. The APC National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu, stated these at a press briefing in Abuja on Tuesday. Read more
N15.89b injection to stop ASUU strike (Nation)
Varsities may reopen soon, with the Federal Government making concessions to the striking Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU). The concessions will be tabled before the union’s leaders on Monday at a meeting to be convened by Labour and Employment Minister Chris Ngige. The Minister has reached out to the ASUU leadership for the “robust feedback session” with the hope that the union will return to the negotiation table. Varsity lecturers on November 4, last year, began a strike to push the implementation of the 2017 Memorandum of Action. Read more
ASUU talks tough ahead of Friday meeting with INEC (Punch)
The Academic Staff Union of Universities, ahead of its Friday’s meeting with the Independent National Electoral Commission, has said that its ongoing seven-week strike is in the national interest. The National President of ASUU, Prof. Biodun Ogunyemi, who stated this in an interview with The PUNCH in response to the call on the union to call off the strike, said nobody had the monopoly of national interest. He added that the strike would not be called off until the Federal Government acceded to the lecturers’ demands. Read more
Dalung, Okorocha, Orji Kalu, Modu Sheriff, others make presidential campaign team for Buhari (Vanguard)
Wife of the President, Dr. Aisha Muhammadu Buhari, is to chair the women and youth presidential campaign team for the re-election of President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo in February 16, 2019 election. This was contained in a statement signed by Director of Information, Office of the wife of the President, Suleiman Haruna, in Abuja. According to the statement, all the members of the campaign team will be inaugurated by President Buhari tomorrow at the State House Conference Hall. Read more
Trailer crushes expectant mother, 11 others in Ibadan (Nation)
Twelve persons have died in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, in a Monday night auto crash near Second Gate, New Gbagi International Market, on the new Ife-Ibadan road. The accident reportedly occurred at 11:40 p.m, causing a heavy traffic gridlock on road for several hours. A trailer from Iwo Road, suspected to have had a brake failure, rammed into a commercial bus and two cars near the entrance to a market in the area. While police spokesman Adekunle Ajisebutu, a Superintendent of Police (SP), put the casualty figure at 11, a report by the office of the Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Mrs Cecilia Alao, said 12 persons died in the accident. Read more
Politicians’ll twist my 2019 prophecies, says Adeboye (Vanguard)
Pastor Enoch Adeboye, the general overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), says politicians will twist his prophecies for the year 2019. The revered preacher said this is the reason he has decided to code the prophesies, so no one can say “Adeboye said.” He said as 2018 drew to its crescendo, he approached God to ask him what will happen in 2019, but added that “we have a little problem, the little problem is that in Nigeria, this is election year, and anything I say will be twisted by politicians”. Read more
Shettima rallies support for military (Nation)
Borno State Governor Kashim Shettima has called for a collective support to the military for a successful campaign against Boko Haram insurgents. Shettima made the appeal during the extraordinary security meeting of stakeholders on New Year Eve in Maiduguri, the state capital. The governor, with the stakeholders met all night to proffer a lasting solution to the resurgence of Boko Haram attacks in some parts of the state. Shettima called on the people to unite, irrespective of their differences, rally round the military, police and other security agencies, to effectively end Boko Haram insurgency and restore peace. Read more
Mali villagers killed in armed raid (BBC)
Armed men believed to be traditional hunters have killed at least 37 people in an attack on a village in central Mali, the country’s government says. Many homes were burned in Koulogon village, in the central Mopti region, officials added. government has launched an investigation into the attack. Last year, hundreds of people died in clashes between Dogon hunters and members of the largely nomadic Fula ethnic group. The raid on Koulogon happened at about 05:00 GMT on Tuesday, a government statement said. Fulani villager Allaye Yattara told AFP news agency he was outside the village with cattle when he heard shots. Read more
Brazil’s new far-right leader urges unity (BBC)
Brazil’s far-right President Jair Bolsonaro has used his inaugural speech to promise to build a “society without discrimination or division”. The former army captain told Congress he wanted a “national pact” to free Brazil of corruption, crime and economic mismanagement. In a swipe at the left, he vowed to free Brazil of “ideology”. He is seen as a deeply divisive figure whose racist, homophobic and misogynistic remarks have angered many. Mr Bolsonaro, 63, won the presidential election by a wide margin against Fernando Haddad of the left-wing Workers’ Party on 28 October. Read more
Spurs cruise past Cardiff to go second (BBC)
Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino said his team needs to “find a way to be consistent” if they want to be “contenders” in the Premier League after strolling to a comprehensive win at Cardiff City to climb back up to second place in the table. Spurs suffered a shock 3-1 home defeat by Wolves on Saturday but ruthlessly exposed Cardiff’s flimsy defence with three goals before half-time to win in south Wales. Harry Kane bundled in a fortuitous early opener in the third minute and Christian Eriksen nestled a fine strike into the bottom corner nine minutes later. Son Heung-min added a third in the 26th minute and, from that point, the untroubled visitors seemed to ease off a little. Read more
Emery defends replacing Lacazette (BBC)
Unai Emery defended his decision to substitute goalscorer Alexandre Lacazette as Arsenal bounced back from their thrashing by Liverpool to beat Fulham 4-1. The French striker grabbed the Gunners’ second goal in the second half, but was replaced by midfielder Aaron Ramsey with the score at 2-1, soon after the Cottagers’ Aboubakar Kamara reduced the deficit in the 69th minute. The decision was met by a negative reaction from a large number of home fans. “I understand the supporters,” said Emery, whose side closed the gap to fourth-placed Chelsea to two points, though Chelsea host Southampton on Wednesday. Read more
Federer & Williams thrill at Hopman Cup (BBC)
Roger Federer’s Switzerland beat Serena Williams’ USA as the two tennis greats met on court for the first time at the Hopman Cup in Perth, Australia. Federer and Belinda Bencic beat Williams and Frances Tiafoe 4-2 4-3 (5-3) in a mixed-doubles contest to secure a 2-1 win in the round-robin tie. Federer and Williams, both 37, earlier won their respective singles matches. “It was great fun. I really enjoyed playing against Serena. What an honour,” said Federer. “I was nervous returning because people talk about her serve so much. I know why they say it now, she has a wonderful serve. “She’s a great champion, you see how focused she is and I love that about her.” Read more
Netflix removes show after Saudi complaint (BBC)
Netflix has removed from its streaming service in Saudi Arabia an episode of a satirical comedy that was critical of the kingdom’s rulers. The second episode of Patriot Act, with US comedian Hasan Minhaj, was removed following an official complaint that it had violated Saudi anti-cybercrime law. Netflix confirmed the move to the UK’s Financial Times (FT) newspaper. It said that it strongly supported artistic freedom but had to comply with local law. Despite the move, people in Saudi Arabia can still watch the episode on the show’s YouTube channel. In the episode that was removed, Minhaj criticises Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman over the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in October. Read more