Petrol scarcity worsens in Lagos, Abuja, Kano as marketers blame depot price hike (DailyTrust)
The scarcity of petrol is said to be worsening in Lagos, Abuja, Kano and across other states with marketers blaming an increase in the private depot price and a cut in supply at NNPC depots.
This is just as the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) has directed depot owners to increase the supply of petrol to retail stations.
The scarcity in Abuja, the federal capital city, has continued for over two weeks with no sign of improvement; that of Lagos resurfaced this week and in Kano, it has been over a week when motorists observed the trend.
Daily Trust reports that the marketers currently blame the increase in depot prices for the fresh scarcity in Lagos, which is compounding the situation in Abuja after flooding cut off the Lokoja-Abuja highway, leaving petrol-laden trucks stranded or rerouting. Read more
Controversy surrounds fire at Lagos WAEC building (Punch)
Workers and residents were thrown into panic on Wednesday when fire gutted a section of the West African Examination Council building at Yaba, Lagos State.
A vulcaniser, who did not want to be identified, told PUNCH Metro during a visit to the scene that he heard the call for help of the trapped workers.
He said, “I was coming back from where I went to fix a tyre when I started to hear people from the building shouting ‘fire, fire’. Some people ran outside and others were trapped. But the fire service and other agencies rescued them. The fire moved from the floors below to the top floor.”
Security guards at the complex did not allow our correspondent into the premises and refused to speak on the incident. Read more
Suspend sale of TBS, lawsuit pending, Lagos tells FG (Vanguard)
The Lagos State Government, yesterday, urged the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr Abubakar Malami, SAN, to advise the Federal Government against selling or granting concession of the Tafawa Balewa Square, TBS, in the Lagos Island area of the state.
Reacting to the Federal Government’s plan to sell TBS and other properties, the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Lagos State, Moyosore Onigbanjo, in a statement, said the matter is still pending before the Supreme Court.
Onigbanjo, in a statement titled ‘RE: Budget Deficit: Government May Sell TBS, NIPPs, 25 key assets’, urged Malami to stop the move until the suit instituted by the office of the AGF in the Supreme Court is determined.
The statement reads: “The attention of the Lagos State Government has been drawn to the news report on the front page of a national newspaper, dated October 21, 2022, that the Federal Government, through the Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning, is planning to either sell or grant concession in respect of Tafawa Balewa Square situate in Lagos Island, Lagos State.
“The Attorney-General of the Federation, AGF, must be aware that the position of the Federal Government to either sell or concession the Tafawa Balewa Square cannot be valid as the AGF is the Plaintiff in Suit No. SC.508/2012 between Attorney-General of the Federation vs. Attorney-General of Lagos State pending before the Supreme Court wherein the AGF is seeking a declaration that the ownership of the land, building, monuments structures and fixtures better known as Tafawa Balewa Square in the city of Lagos is vested in the Federal Government. Read more
I have forgiven Osinbajo – Tinubu (DailyTrust)
The All Progressives Congress presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, says he has forgiven Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, noting that he doesn’t harbour any ill-feeling against the former presidential aspirant.
Osinbajo, who used to be Tinubu’s close ally, was a major contender for the APC presidential ticket, which the latter eventually clinched.
He was Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice during the Tinubu administration as the Lagos State Governor and it was widely believed that Tinubu played a major role in his emergence as the running mate to Buhari in 2015.
When the vice president threw his hat into the ring for the APC presidential ticket, his move was interpreted as betrayal in some quarters.
Osinbajo did not feature in the APC presidential campaign council, but the party said he was excluded on the order of President Muhammadu Buhari to allow him concentrate on governance. Read more
Tears as BRT vehicle kills trader, apprentice, labourer (Punch)
Three persons were confirmed dead and several others injured on Wednesday when a Bus Rapid Transit vehicle rammed into a market fence at Alapere in the Ketu area of Lagos State.
PUNCH Metro gathered that the BRT, with number plate KSF-940XX, had a brake failure when the incident happened around 7am.
It was learnt that the driver lost control and rammed into the wall, hitting another commercial bus loading passengers.
An eyewitness, Chukwuemeka Sunday, said the BRT vehicle crushed a woman who was coming from the market, an apprentice trying to cross the road and a wheelbarrow pusher. Read more
Ogun Police nab four suspected armed robbers (Guardian)
Operatives of Ogun State Police Command have arrested four notorious armed robbery suspects, who specialise in snatching motorcycles from owners at gunpoint.
The suspects: Muhammad Adamu, 20; Okacha Alidu, 22; Yusuf Mohammed, 28 and Muniru Sunmaila, 20 were arrested in the early hours of Monday, October 24, 2022.
They were nabbed following a distress call received at Ajuwon police divisional headquarters at about 3:00a.m., that the suspects were operating and had attacked one Sunday Doile at Onibudo area of Akute and snatched his Bajaj motorcycle at gunpoint.
Upon the distress call, the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of Ajuwon division, Superintendent of Police (SP) Andrew Akinseye, quickly mobilised his patrol team and moved to the scene. Read more
4 Lagos robbers caught dismantling stolen car (Punch)
The police in Lagos State on Wednesday confirmed the arrest of four suspects for allegedly snatching a Toyota Camry at Iganmu, in the Surulere area of the state.
The state Police Public Relations Officer, SP Benjamin Hundeyin, in a statement, said the suspects were arrested while dismantling the vehicle.
He said, “Operatives of the Ijora Badia division of the Lagos State Police Command have arrested four suspects who specialised in stealing vehicles and dismantling them for onward sales as spare parts.
“The suspects, Alafia Afiwajuomo, Ganiyu Tajudeen, Olamilekan Hassan and Lucky Esomojumi, were arrested at Igamu under bridge following a painstaking investigation and intelligence gathering that was launched when information was received on September 29, 2022, that a Toyota Camry was snatched at gunpoint from one Sandra, at Iganmu, Surulere, Lagos. Read more
Worries for naira as CBN redesigns currency, mops N2.73tr black money (Guardian)
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), yesterday, announced the introduction of newly redesigned N200, N500 and N1,000 banknotes, a move interpreted to mark the beginning of a broader currency census and the mop up of black money.
At a virtual press briefing, CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, admitted the concern over large amounts of money outside the banking system, which is estimated at 80 per cent of the total money in circulation.
Emefiele revealed that as of September 2022, N2.73 trillion of N3.23 trillion currency-in-circulation was outside of vaults of commercial banks.
He also stated that the currency in circulation has more than doubled since 2015, rising from N1.46 trillion in December 2015 to N3.23 trillion as at September 2022. Read more
Taylor Swift cuts controversial ‘fat’ scene from music video after backlash (PageSix)
She did something bad.
Taylor Swift removed a scene from her “Anti-Hero” music video after several health professionals and activists dubbed it “fatphobic.”
The segment showed Swift stepping on a scale that called her “fat” instead of displaying a numerical weight.
While looking down at the scale, the 32-year-old sang the line, “I stare directly at the sun but never in the mirror” before the camera panned to her looking at a second version of herself shaking her head no.
Swift, who wrote and directed the music video, tweeted last Friday that the visual for the song off her new “Midnights” album represented her “nightmare scenarios and intrusive thoughts.” Read more
Release date for Prince Harry’s tell-all memoir revealed (Metro)
The release date of Prince Harry’s much-anticipated memoir has reportedly been set in stone.
Industry executives told The New York Times the tell-all account of life in the Royal Family will hit the shelves on January 10, 2023.
When it was announced, the book was slated for a late 2022 release but the date has been pushed back several times.
The Duke of Sussex was reportedly asked to re-write sections to give an account of the death Queen Elizabeth II, further delaying the process. Read more
Rock ‘n’ roll icon Jerry Lee Lewis not dead, rep confirms (PageSix)
There’s a whole lotta’ misinformation goin’ on.
Rock ’n’ roll icon Jerry Lee Lewis is alive and well despite a report claiming otherwise, Page Six can confirm.
“He’s alive. TMZ reported erroneously off of a bulls–t anonymous tip,” the “Great Balls of Fire” singer’s rep told us on Wednesday.
TMZ incorrectly broke the news that Lewis passed away at his home in Memphis on Wednesday.
The beloved musician had been dealing with health issues recently, which likely lead to the speculation.
A Facebook post from his official page showed Lewis looking frail while dealing with the “flu.” Read more
Australian parliament rape trial aborted (BBC)
The case of a former political adviser accused of raping a colleague inside Australia’s Parliament House has been aborted after juror “misconduct”.
Bruce Lehrmann, 27, denies sexually assaulting Brittany Higgins on a government minister’s sofa after a night out in March 2019.
He says they did not have sex at all.
But after a 12-day trial and five days of deliberation the jury was discharged when it emerged one member had looked at academic research on sexual assault.
Juries are required to decide a case only on evidence presented in court. Read more
Adele floats tipsily down a river in newly released music video for “I Drink Wine” (Metro)
Adele has finally released the long-awaited music video for her new single I Drink Wine.
The Grammy-winning musician made a rapturous return to music last year with her number-one hit Easy On Me, an ode to her young son after her separation from ex-husband Simon Konecki.
Now firmly back on the scene, with her rescheduled Las Vegas residency set to take place in the coming weeks, the Londoner has recently been teasing the release of her second video for album 30.
Announcing the news this week, Adele wrote on social media: ‘The I Drink Wine video was the first one I shot for this album. Read more
2 ISIS militants executed in Mogadishu (VOA)
Somali officials on Wednesday executed two ISIS militants convicted for carrying out assassinations on behalf of the al-Shabab terrorist group, marking the second execution of Islamist militants in a week. The executions are part of the Somali government’s all-out war on the militants.
The two men went before a firing squad at Mogadishu’s General Kahiye Police Academy after a military appellate court upheld a lower court ruling to execute the convicted militants.
According to court papers, Aden Mohamed Ali Mohamud first joined Al-Shabab in 2010 but later defected to ISIS in 2015, while Mohamed Ali Mohamed Farah joined ISIS after watching the group’s propaganda via encrypted messages on the social media app Telegram.
Military prosecutor General Abdullahi Kamey told the court that the two were involved in a spate of killings of civilians and government officials in central Somalia and the capital Mogadishu. Read more
Herschel Walker called abortion ‘hypocrite’ by second woman (BBC)
A second anonymous woman has come forward to accuse an anti-abortion Georgia Senate candidate of pressuring her into terminating her pregnancy during their relationship.
The unnamed accuser called Herschel Walker, a Republican, “a hypocrite” who is “not fit to be a US senator”.
The ex-NFL star has denied both claims, calling the latest one “foolishness”.
The Trump-backed candidate is running neck and neck with Democrat Raphael Warnock in November’s midterm race.
The woman, who is only being named by her lawyer as “Jane Doe”, told reporters on Wednesday that she had a years-long relationship with Mr Walker while he was married and that he had driven her to a clinic to ensure she terminated her pregnancy. Read more
Shearer hails Awoniyi over Reds winner (Punch)
English Premier League legend, Alan Shearer has praised Nottingham Forest striker Taiwo Awoniyi for his performance against Liverpool and named him in his EPL Team of The Week, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.
The 25-year-old scored the game’s only goal as the newly-promoted Trees stunned the Anfield giants, who reached the Champions League Final last season.
Awoniyi has done pretty well since arriving at Forest and with three goals from his first three starts, he’s the top goals scorer in the team.
However, he’s not always been handed a place in the starting 11 by manager Steve Cooper and has been struggling for minutes alongside compatriot Emmanuel Dennis. Read more
Medvedev, Tsitsipas ease into Vienna last 16 (DailyTrust)
Top seed Daniil Medvedev cruised into the second round of the ATP tournament in Vienna on Wednesday with a straight-sets victory over Nikoloz Basilashvili.
The Russian won 6-2, 6-2 to set up a meeting with fellow former US Open champion Dominic Thiem, who saved two match points in a dramatic win over American Tommy Paul on Tuesday.
Medvedev, the world No 4, broke twice in each set and did not even face a break point as he won in only an hour.
Second seed Stefanos Tsitsipas saw off home hope Dennis Novak 7-6 (7/2), 6-2 in his opening match. Read more
Liverpool secure spot in Champions League last 16 (BBC)
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp says qualifying for the Champions League knockout phase should “never be taken for granted” after his side sealed their spot in the last 16.
The Reds put their domestic woes behind them to progress from Group A with a clinical second-half display against Ajax in Amsterdam.
Needing a draw to reach the next stage, Klopp’s side were fortunate not to be behind before Mohamed Salah clipped in with their only shot on target of the first half.
Darwin Nunez, back in the starting line-up after injury, should have doubled the lead before half-time but the £64m summer signing struck a post with an open goal in front of him.
However, the Uruguay forward quickly made amends by powering in a precise header from Andy Robertson’s corner shortly after the restart. Read more
Jalen Brunson propels Knicks to gutsy overtime win over Hornets (NYPost)
Over and over, Jalen Brunson has emphasized the need to win ugly. To find a way to prevail when the Knicks aren’t at their best.
He said it after the loss to Memphis, following the easy home victories over the Pistons and Magic and throughout training camp. Wednesday night, he got his wish — largely because of his own clutch play.
Brunson scored six of the Knicks’ 10 points in overtime, leading them to a 134-131 victory over the pesky and counterpunching Hornets in front of an announced sold-out crowd of 19,812 at the Garden.
“We gotta win some games like that,” Julius Randle said. “Every game’s not gonna be perfect, so for us to come out with a win like that is great.” Read more
Tottenham denied late win in Champions League as Harry Kane’s goal ruled out for offside (Metro)
Harry Kane was denied a late winner for Spurs in the Champions League (Getty)
Tottenham were denied a late win against Sporting in the Champions League after Harry Kane’s injury-time goal was ruled out for offside.
Former Spurs midfielder Marcus Edwards put the Portuguese side in front in the first half and Spurs had to wait until the 80th minute for Rodrigo Bentancur to equalise.
Antonio Conte’s side then thought they had secured a place in the Champions League knockout stage as Kane met Emerson Royal’s header inside Sporting’s box to lash home from close range.
But after a lengthy VAR check, the goal was ruled out as Kane was offside from Emerson’s header across the box. Read more
Bayern compound Barca misery with 3-0 victory (Vanguard)
With their fate already decided, Bayern Munich inflicted more damage to Barcelona on Wednesday, trashing the Blaugrana giants 3-0 at the Camp Nou.
The win extends Bayern’s unbeaten run in the Champions League group stage to 33 matches.
Goals from from Sadio Mane, Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting and Benjamin Pavard ensured the Bavarian giants secure top spot in Group C. Read more
