Oro Worshippers, church members clash during vigil in Lagos (DailyTrust)
One person was killed while others sustained injuries when Oro worshippers and some church members clashed in Lagos State.
Oro festival is peculiar to Yoruba people of South West Nigeria. A curfew is declared when Oro is meant to parade a community and females are confined indoors.
It is taboo for females to set eyes on the deity. The restriction also extends to males that are non-initiates and non-natives.
Commenting on the disturbing incident in Lagos, Police Public Relations Officer, SP Benjamin Hundeyin, said some persons had been arrested for murder. Read more
UNILAG SSANU, NASU protest against strike suspension (Punch)
Members of the Joint Action Committee of Non-Academic Staff Union and Senior Staff Association of Nigeria Universities, University of Lagos branch are currently protesting against the sudden suspension of its strike by their executives.
The PUNCH had reported that the aggrieved members said they were not duly carried along by their leaders before the strike was suspended last Saturday.
The leadership of JAC of SSANU/NASU in the statement on Saturday had asked all its members nationwide to resume today, however, the UNILAG branch members took to protest against the suspension of the strike.
On Wednesday and as of press time, members of SSANU/NASU UNILAG, carried various placards with inscriptions, ‘We are tired of general secretary Adeyemi Peters and Mohammed Ibrahim of SSANU, they must go!’, ‘We are not civil servants.’ Read more
Jandor celebrates Funke Akindele at 45 (Independent)
The Lagos State gubernatorial candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 general elections, Dr Abdul-Azeez Olajide Adediran, also called Jandor has felicitated with his running mate, Funke Akindele as she marks her 45th birthday.
Jandor in a message he signed on Wednesday noted that he is celebrating a phenomenal and accomplished woman at 45, not because she was chosen to be his partner on the quest to birth a breath of fresh air in Lagos State or because she is his kin and a true daughter of Lagos State.
The message reads, “I celebrate you because you are a shining example of what it means to be a woman with purpose. You have approached every challenge with integrity, every opportunity with grace, and every lesson with humility. You are supple but firm and warm to all who have the fortune of meeting you.
“Your Excellency-in-waiting, you have made Lagos State proud, distinctly as one of our most celebrated daughters, a leader in the film and entertainment industry, and an astute business owner. Your impact continues to be felt by thousands of people in Nigeria and millions more across the world,” the statement reads. Read more
Lagos, FG begin fresh COVID-19 vaccination (Punch)
The Lagos State Government, in collaboration with the Federal Government, has commenced the COVID-19 Scales 3.0 vaccination campaign targeted to vaccinate the rest of the population against the COVID-19 virus.
According to a statement on Tuesday, the state Commissioner for Health, Prof Akin Abayomi, disclosed this during the commencement of the event in Ikeja.
Abayomi, who was represented at the event by the Permanent Secretary, National Primary Healthcare Development Agency, Dr Akinwummi Mustapha, explained that Scales 3.0 is a three-month strategy to accelerate COVID-19 vaccination in the state, adding that it is important for all eligible persons, aged 18 years and above, to get the jabs in order to halt the renewed spread of the virus.
He said, In collaboration with the FG, we have flagged off the COVID-19 Scales 3.0 vaccination campaign aimed at vaccinating the rest of the population against the COVID-19 virus. Read more
CIOTA, FRSC begin road safety awareness campaign in Lagos (Guardian)
The Chartered Institute of Transport Administration of Nigeria (CIOTA), in collaboration with the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Tuesday, began a road safety awareness campaign in Lagos State.
CIOTA’s President, Bashir Jamoh, represented by Chizoba Anyika, while speaking at the campaign ceremony, disclosed that across the world, road traffic accidents accounted for about 1.25 million deaths and 50 million injuries each year.
She said: “These injuries can lead to life-long disability, including brain and spinal cord injury. Natural disasters and road traffic injuries are the leading cause of death, especially among young people. With only two per cent of the world’s vehicles but 16 per cent of road fatalities, Africa has been hit hard by the global road safety crisis.”
Commander O.C. Olakoju, representing Lagos State FRSC Command, while addressing motorists noted that transportation played a pivotal role in the development of the economy of any country and road safety awareness is crucial.” Read more
Wizkid fans delusional, says Burna Boy (Nation)
Afro beat singer Damini Ogulu aka Burna Boy has lambasted Wizkid fans for opposing his stance on removal of history in school.
He reacted after Prof Wole Soyinka, in an interview on Channels TV, expressed similar worry on the removal of history in school curriculum.
In an old interview which generated criticism, Burna Boy claimed that the schools no longer teach history rather children are taught subjects insignificant to them.
Realising Soyinka’s shared similar thought, Burna slammed Wizkid fans that if history was truly taught in schools, Wizkid would have garnered smarter fans. Read more
Tinubu, Wike meet in London as PDP reconciliation drags (Leadership)
Amid the strained reconciliation process within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Rivers State governor, Nyesom Wike, and his team on Monday met with presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Ahmed Tinubu in London.
Although details of the meeting was still hazy at the time of filing this report, LEADERSHIP gathered that it was in furtherance of political realignments ahead of the 2023 presidential election.
Th meeting which is said to have sparked concerns over a possible gale of defections from the major opposition party in the country is coming just as efforts are being made to perfect the ongoing reconciliation process between Wike and PDP presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, which started last week after months of friction.
Attempts by the PDP leadership to pacify Wike and his loyalists failed after Atiku overlooked him and picked Delta State governor, Sen Ifeanyi Okowa, as his running mate for the 2023 polls. Read more
FRSC orders investigation into ‘rotational’ number plate (ThisDay)
The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) has ordered an immediate investigation into the case of a video circulating on social media which displayed a vehicle with a rotational number plate.
This is contained in a statement by the Corps Public Education Officer, Mr. Bisi Kazeem yesterday in Abuja.
Kazeem said that the vehicle number plate on display was: KUJ-304BV, while its opposite side when automatically flipped carried a number tagged presidency registered 01B-266FG.
He quoted the Acting Corps Marshal, Dauda Biu as ordering a full investigation into the trending video. Read more
Victim of kerosene explosion seeks Akwa Ibom first Lady’s assistance (Vanguard)
A widow and victim of a kerosene explosion in Akwa Ibom State, Mrs. Elizabeth Benedict Edet, has appealed to the Akwa Ibom State First Lady, Mrs. Martha Udom Emmanuel, for assistance to enable her to carry out further correctional surgeries on her face, and extraction of previous stitches.
Mrs. Edet, who was writhing in pain, from the wounds she sustained from the fire incident, caused by adulterated kerosene since 2018, which damaged her face beyond recognition, and parts of her chest region, narrated her ordeal to newsmen in Uyo.
The mother of six, who hails from Ikot Efum, in Ibiono Ibom LGA, disclosed that her late husband, Sergeant Benedict Edet, served the country at 35 Battalion in Calabar, Cross River State, before returning to the state on voluntary retirement, and later died in 2008, due to a protracted illness, leaving her to cater for the children alone.
She added that she strongly believes that if the First Lady had received the letter she wrote to her earlier, through the commissioner, Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Welfare, she would have since come to her assistance. Read more
Brandy says it was ‘pretty mind-blowing’ being cast as first black Cinderella in TV film (USAToday)
Brandy is putting on the glass slipper for a stroll down memory lane.
The singer and actress, who starred in a remake of “Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella” in the late ’90s, revisited the musical fantasy in a “20/20” special, which aired Tuesday, to mark the film’s upcoming 25th anniversary.
Starring Brandy and the late Whitney Houston alongside Whoopi Goldberg, Bernadette Peters and Jason Alexander, the TV movie drew in over 60 million viewers during its premiere on ABC in November 1997. The film also earned an Emmy for Outstanding Art Direction in 1998.
With her lead role in “Cinderella,” Brandy became the first Black actress to play the classic fairytale character on screen. Houston played her Fairy Godmother. Read more
Anne Heche to be laid to rest ‘among her peers’ at Hollywood Forever Cemetery (Standard)
Anne Heche’s sons say their mother will be laid to rest “among her peers” at the famous Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Los Angeles.
Homer Laffoon, 20, and Atlas Heche Tupper, 13, said the outpouring of kindness following their mother’s death had shown them that she also belonged “to her fans” and the entertainment community.
It comes after Heche was “peacefully taken off life support” on August 14, nine days after a serious car crash in which she suffered a severe anoxic brain injury.
She was reportedly cremated on August 18 and is due to be interred in the cemetery. Read more
Blackpink makes new record with “Pink Venom” music video (TheKoreaHerald)
Blackpink broke its own record with the music video for “Pink Venom” on YouTube, according to the platform’s official tally.
The video logged 90.4 million views in 24 hours when it was unveiled on Friday, surpassing the record it set with the music video for “How You Like That” that amassed 86.3 million views. This is a record for a music video from a female artist, and the third-highest in the world.
The video for the pre-release from its upcoming second studio album generated 100 million views in about 29 hours, a record for a K-pop girl group, and is maintaining the top spot as the most-viewed video on YouTube for four days.
The song topped iTunes top songs chart in 74 regions so far and stayed atop Spotify’s Global Top 50 chart for three days. Read more
‘My wife directs my music style’ – Stonebwoy (MyJoy)
Livingston Etse Satekla, popularly known as Stonebwoy, says that his wife, Dr. Louisa Ansong, directs his style of music.
The Ghanaian ‘Putuu’ hitmaker said he plays his songs for her to listen to and give her feedback because “she knows her stuff.”
He shared an experience when he made her listen to one of the new records he is about to put out.
“She is very musically inclined, she will tell me that this sounds too high. Just yesterday I was playing a new record and she was saying it sounds too high for me,” he said on Daybreak Hitz with Sammy Forson on Hitz FM. Read more
Producers Guild officially elects Stephanie Allain And Donald De Line as presidents (Deadline)
The Producers Guild said Tuesday that it has elected Stephanie Allain and Donald De Line its new presidents, after the pair ran unopposed to replace outgoing toppers Gail Berman and Lucy Fisher, who had served in the role since 2018.
The vote was held during the PGA’s annual membership meeting.
“As proud members of the PGA for over 20 years, it’s a great privilege to serve as presidents. Gail and Lucy’s excellent leadership has grown and strengthened the guild, and we will build on their progress,” Allain and De Line said. “Along with Susan Sprung and her team, we will continue to educate the industry on the role of the producer, support producers’ efforts for fair and commensurate compensation and benefits, welcome and encourage a more diverse membership, and endeavor to attain broader healthcare coverage while educating members on the current benefits and opportunities available to them.” Read more
Cardi B to direct new Offset music video with w “very sexy, talented artist” (HNHH)
One of hip-hop’s favourite couples – Cardi B and Offset – are gearing up for yet another collaboration, from the sounds of things.
While the mother of two has been hard at work on her follow-up to 2018’s debut album, Invasion of Privacy, her husband has been steadily dropping off solo singles of his own as his fellow Migo members Quavo and Takeoff work on their dual projects.
Most recently, Offset delivered the Baby Keem-produced “5 4 3 2 1,” and this coming Friday (August 26), he’s preparing to deliver yet another banger in the form of “CODE” featuring Moneybagg Yo.
While on Twitter earlier this week, Cardi got to talking about some of her past and present projects after retweeting a dance project done to her 2019 single “Press,” which she didn’t hesitate to hype up. “Love it,” the New York native began. Read more
Capitol Records severs ties with A.I. rapper FN Meka, apologizes to black community for “Insensitivity” (THR)
Capitol Music Group on Tuesday said it had “severed ties” with the A.I. rapper FN Meka after facing pushback from activist groups and observers that the virtual rapper was a stereotypical caricature of Black artists.
“CMG has severed ties with the FN Meka project, effective immediately,” a Capitol Music Group spokesperson told The Hollywood Reporter. “We offer our deepest apologies to the Black community for our insensitivity in signing this project without asking enough questions about equity and the creative process behind it. We thank those who have reached out to us with constructive feedback in the past couple of days — your input was invaluable as we came to the decision to end our association with the project.”
Earlier this month, Capitol Records announced it had signed FN Meka and was releasing a single, “Florida Water,” with the artist Gunna and the gaming streamer Cody “Clix” Conrad. The signing marked Capitol Records’ first major deal with a virtual artist, which was co-created by Anthony Martini and Brandon Le, who are behind the company Factory New, which specializes in creating virtual music artists.
But in an open letter shared earlier on Tuesday, the activist group Industry Blackout — which represents a group of Black industry professionals — described the FN Meka project as being a “direct insult to the Black community and our culture” by being an “amalgamation of gross stereotypes [and] appropriative mannerisms that derive from Black artists, complete with slurs infused in lyrics.” Read more
Former Malaysia PM Najib pens farewell note to family before jail term (StraitsTimes)
Former Malaysia prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, whose appeal against a prison sentence was dismissed on Tuesday (Aug 23), penned a farewell note to his family saying he chose public service 46 years ago which took time away from them.
“My years have gone by, dedicated to people, public service, politics, a sacrifice I chose and I made, a journey which was joyous but unfortunately I overlooked and could not always be there for you,” Najib wrote in a Facebook post accompanied by a picture of him with his grandson.
“All these challenges which bore fruit brought a smile to my face, while some did not, but it was all a big sacrifice with years and time passing by.
“I had to be on the move at all times with my years dedicated to people, public service, politics, and I couldn’t be with you always. Read more
World ParaVolley Level 1 course for referees, coaches holds in Lagos (ThisDay)
A World ParaVolley Level I Course for African Referees and Coaches is currently ongoing inside the Sports Bar of the Teslim Balogun Stadium, Surulere, Lagos.
The Level 1 Course, the first development course for Referees and Coaches in Africa, is primarily targeted and focused on Nigeria, as the World ParaVolleyball confirmed Nigeria as Africa’s powerhouse for the sport.
The training, scheduled to end on Saturday, August 28, 2022, is in collaboration with ParaVolleyball Africa and Nigeria ParaVolleyball Federation to further the growth of the game and create opportunities for officials to gain international qualifications.
Participants at the course are drawn from different parts of Nigeria and other neighbouring West African nations. The ongoing training had World ParaVolley facilitators led by Ugandan, Robinson Tumwesigye, who are taking participants through practical and theoretical aspects of the course.
Onazi backs CHAN Eagles to beat Ghana (Punch)
As the Super Eagles B team continue their preparations ahead of their African Nations Championship qualifiers against Ghana on Sunday in Cape Coast, midfielder Ogenyi Onazi has backed the team to emerge victorious and qualify for the seventh edition of the tournament.
Next year’s edition of the CHAN tournament will be held in Algeria.
The Eagles B side take on the Galaxies in the first leg in Cape Coast, before the second leg at the Moshood Abiola Stadium in Abuja on September 3.
Speaking ahead of the much-anticipated game, Onazi, who has been training with the team in Abuja, said he was confident that the team had what it took to qualify for the tournament at the expense of their arch-rivals. Read more
2023: Tinubu, Atiku, others to feature in Keffi polo tournament – Wadada (Vanguard)
APC and PDP Presidential Candidates, Sen. Bola Tinubu and ex-Vice- President, Atiku Abubakar, respectively, are expected to feature in the forthcoming National Unity Polo Tournament, in Keffi, Nasarawa State.
The News Agency of Nigeria ( NAN) reports that the four-day event is being organised by Keffi Polo Ranch, supported by Heritage Bank.
The polo tournament is expected to bring together other political gladiators, royal fathers and captains of industry in the country.
Founder and promoter of the Ranch, Mr Ahmed Wadada, made the disclosure in an interview with NAN on Tuesday in Abuja. Read more
Graham Potter opens League Cup door for Brighton’s Irish teenage pair (IrishIndependent)
Graham Potter will use tonight’s League Cup action to give Irish youngsters Evan Ferguson and Andrew Moran a chance to prove themselves.
Ferguson (17) made his first-team debut for the Seagulls in the competition last season, one of four appearances, while Moran (18) also featured last term.
They are in Potter’s thoughts for a cup tie away to Forest Green Rovers – Moran is fresh from signing a long-term professional contract – as the manager rests first-team players after a positive start to the Premier League season.
“We like this competition. It’s a chance to look at guys who haven’t played so much and look at some of our youngsters as well and give them a feel of what we’re trying to do. We have got some good options,” said Potter. Read more
Besiktas closing in on Dele Alli and Siriki Dembele (DailyMail)
Dele Alli is closing in on a move to his third club in a year as he was left out of Everton’s Carabao Cup match day squad against Fleetwood Town.
The midfielder is set to join Turkish side Besiktas as a move is being finalised.
Manager Frank Lampard confirmed that the 26-year-old is set to join Besiktas after the Toffees’ 1-0 win over Fleetwood Town in the Carabao Cup.
He said: ‘He’s very advanced to moving to Besiktas. It’s not absolutely done yet but it’s very advanced.’ Read more
There will be no fairy-tale ending for Serena Williams, says Martina Navratilova (StraitsTimes)
Serena Williams may have planned retirement her way but the American must be prepared to accept the goodbyes as well as the losses and exit the stage with grace, tennis great Martina Navratilova has told Reuters.
Williams signalled her intention to retire in a Vogue article in early August, saying she was “evolving away from tennis” but never confirming the US Open as her final event.
However, for Navratilova, like most of the tennis world, the message was to completely understood the emotions Williams was wrestling with as she approaches her final match, having experienced many of them herself. Read lear – Flushing Meadows, where Williams won the first of her 23 Grand Slam titles in 1999, will be the place she takes her final bow.
Navratilova said she completely understood the emotions Williams was wrestling with as she approaches her final match, having experienced many of them herself. Read more
Attorneys for PGA Tour ask judge to unseal details of contracts signed by players who defected to LIV Golf (ESPN)
Attorneys representing the PGA Tour have asked a federal judge to unseal certain details of contracts that were signed by its former players who defected to the rival LIV Golf circuit earlier this year.
In a court filing submitted Tuesday to federal judge Beth Labson Freeman of the Northern District of California, the PGA Tour’s attorneys said they oppose efforts by the plaintiffs in an antitrust lawsuit against the tour to seal terms of their contracts with LIV Golf, arguing that such details “are not competitively sensitive.”
“Instead, they are highly relevant to the core issues in this litigation and already in the public domain,” the lawyers wrote in the motion.
Past major champions Phil Mickelson and Bryson DeChambeau were among the 11 plaintiffs who sued the PGA Tour, arguing it was trying to squash the upstart LIV Golf circuit by threatening players with lifetime bans and/or suspensions for playing in LIV Golf events. The lawsuit also alleged that the PGA Tour “threatened sponsors, vendors, and agents to coerce players to abandon opportunities to play in LIV Golf events. And it has orchestrated a per se unlawful group boycott with the European Tour to deny LIV Golf access to their members.” Read more