Police arraign man who slapped cop in Lagos (Punch)
The Lagos State Police Command has charged a man who allegedly slapped a police officer to court.
The command said the unnamed man slapped the police officer twice on December 6, 2020, around the Alausa area of Lagos State.
The police made this known via its Twitter handle on Tuesday.
Earlier, it tweeted that “This man who caused an accident along Governor’s Road, Ikeja has been arrested for slapping a Police officer twice and threatening the entire team deployed to the scene when the accident occurred. He has been handed over to Alausa Police Station for necessary action.” Read more
Lagos to host real estate market conference (Nation)
The Lagos State Government has announced its plan to hold the first-ever Real Estate Market Place Conference and Exhibitions.
The Conference and Exhibitions will be hosted by the Lagos State Real Estate Regulatory Authority, LASRERA at Expo Hall of Eko Hotel and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos.
The initiative according to the Special Adviser to the Lagos State Governor on Housing, Mrs. Toke Benson-Awoyinka was designed to provide a meeting point for real estate practitioners and their potentials clients. Read more
Lagos East: Mascot Kalu hails Abiru (Sun)
All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain and former Chief of Staff to Abia State government, Chief Mascot Uzor- Kalu, has congratulated the APC candidate in last Saturday’s Senatorial by-election in Lagos East Senatorial district, Mr Tokunbo Abiru, on his landslide victory.
Describing Abiru as a seasoned and experienced professional, with passion for humanity, the Secretary of the APC Primary Election committee for Lagos by-elections (Lagos East Senatorial District and Kosofe 11 state constituency) stressed that the APC remains the only political party with national interest.
While commending the Caretaker Chairman of APC, Mai Mala Buni, National Leader of APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, Lagos State Governor, Mr Babajide Sanwolu, and other party chieftains for their determined efforts in sustaining the ideals of the party at all levels. Read more
Nigeria’s population is officially 206 million, says NPC chairman (Nation)
The Chairman of the National Population Commission (NPC), Nasir Kwarra, on Tuesday disclosed that the country’s population figure is now officially 206 million.
Kwarra, said this while briefing reporters in Abuja on the commencement of the next Enumeration Area Demarcation.
Kwarra said since Nigeria had not been able to hold a census in the last 14 years, it would be difficult to know the exact population of the country. Read more
FG bows to Labour, reduces petrol price by N5 (Thisday)
The federal government has caved in to the demand by the organised labour by slashing the pump price of petrol by N5.
By this reduction, the new price of a litre of petrol will now be N162.44.
The government said the new price template will come into effect as from Monday next week.
Addressing journalists shortly after the meeting with labour leaders that lasted till midnight, the Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige, said that the meeting was fruitful. Read more
Court throws out Maina’s adjournment plea (Guardian)
A Federal High Court in Abuja on Tuesday rejected another request by Abdulrasheed Maina, former Chairman of the defunct Pension Reformed Task Team (PRTT), for an adjournment to prepare for his defence.
Justice Okon Abang, in a ruling, said though the decision to grant the application was at court’s discretion, such plea was a ploy to waste the judicial time of the court.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Maina had, through his counsel, Abel Adaji, on Dec. 4, prayed the court for a short adjournment to allow him get a brief from his client to enable him do the needful, and Justice Abang adjourned the trial continuation for today. Read more
Labour hails CBN over Naira appreciation (Sun)
Organised labour yesterday commended the recent measures of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) aimed at shoring up the value of the Naira.
The Naira recently reversed its depreciation trend in the parallel market, recording N20 gain against the United States Dollar, closing at N470 per dollar due to what observers attributed to the new rules introduced by the CBN, which allowed beneficiaries of diaspora remittances and foreign exchange (forex) transfers into domiciliary account, and collect the proceeds in foreign currency cash.
Speaking at a one- day interactive session with stakeholders on the five-year policy trust of the apex Bank in Kaduna at the weekend, Vice President of Industriall Global Union, Issa Aremu, hailed the CBN’s Monetary Policy Committee ( MPC) for resisting the pressure to benchmark the real value of Naira with what he called “speculative parallel market rates”. The labour leader who described currency devaluation in a developing economy as “false economics” observed that Naira’s worth was better determined by “market fundamentals” aimed at driving growth and development protecting wage income rather than satisfying “the insatiable urge of currency speculators for unearned profits on the streets”. Read more
BGL, associates pay tributes to late stockbroker, Okumagba (Thisday)
The management and staff of BGL Group yesterday in Lagos held a special night of tributes in honour of their late Group Managing Director and notable Nigerian investment banker, Mr. Albert Okumagba.
Also, friends and business associates of the late investment banker and stockbroker at the occasion, took turns to pour encomiums on him for leaving eternal legacies behind.
Okumagba passed on on November 19, 2020 at the age of 56.
The Deputy Managing Director of BGL, Mr. Chibundu Edozie, who read Okumagba’s profile, said under the watch of their late boss, the firm midwifed the merger of STB and United Bank for Africa (UBA) in 2005 even ahead of the banking consolidation era. Read more
NZ’s Ardern apologises for failings identified by inquiry into Christchurch massacre (France24)
New Zealand security agencies were “almost exclusively” focused on the perceived threat of Islamist terrorism before a white supremacist gunman killed 51 Muslim worshippers in Christchurch last year, a report into the country’s worst massacre found.
The Royal Commission of Inquiry also criticised police for failing to enforce proper checks when granting a firearms license to Australian gunman Brenton Tarrant, who released a racist manifesto shortly before the attack and streamed the shootings live on Facebook.
But despite the shortcomings, the commission found no failings within government agencies that would have prevented the attack at two mosques in the South Island city on March 15, 2019.
“The commission made no findings that these issues would have stopped the attack. But these were both failings and for that I apologise,” Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said after the report was released.
Tarrant was sentenced to life in prison without parole in August for the attack, which left dozens injured. Read more
Matthew McConaughey slams Hollywood ‘hypocrisy’ over 2020 election results (PageSix)
Matthew McConaughey slammed the Hollywood elites who “condescend” to and “patronize” conservatives — adding that it’s hypocritical of them to expect President Trump’s supporters to immediately accept the 2020 election results.
On Russell Brand’s podcast “Under the Skin,” McConaughey was asked if he noticed a “condemnation and criticism of ordinary working people” in the entertainment industry when it comes to politics.
“[There is] a kind of offhandedness, like, ‘Oh, they’re dumb, they’re voting for Brexit, they’re voting for Trump.’ I don’t like it, and I don’t like to hear it,” Brand said in an episode last week.
McConaughey replied, “There are a lot [of people] on that illiberal left that absolutely condescend, patronize, and are arrogant towards the other 50 per cent.”
The True Detective star pointed out how some of his Hollywood peers struggled to accept the results in the 2016 election — but now the roles have been reversed. Read more
COVID-19 vaccine: First person receives Pfizer jab in UK (BBC)
A 90-year-old woman has become the first person to be given a Covid jab as part of the mass vaccination programme being rolled out across the UK.
Margaret Keenan, who turns 91 next week, said it was the “best early birthday present”.
She was given the injection at 06:31 GMT – the first of 800,000 doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine that will be given in the coming weeks.
Up to four million more are expected by the end of the month. Read more
Liberia votes on Weah plan to cut presidential terms (Guardian)
Liberians voted on Tuesday on President George Weah’s plan to shorten presidential terms, with critics fearing the former football star could use the constitutional referendum to cling to power.
Weah has argued that keeping the same leader for years “is not the way to go” and wants presidents and lower-house lawmakers to serve five years instead of six, with senators serving seven years instead of nine.
But the move has sparked suspicion in the region because other presidents have used constitutional changes to re-set the clock on their time in office, extending their grip on power. Read more
Brexit: UK and EU reach deal on Northern Ireland border checks (BBC)
The UK and EU have reached agreement on how rules in the Brexit divorce deal relating to Northern Ireland’s borders will work in practice.
The two sides have reached an “agreement in principle” on issues including border control posts and the supply of medicines.
The government says it will now withdraw controversial sections in its Internal Market Bill.
The bill had threatened to jeopardise ongoing post-Brexit trade talks. Read more
Breakdancing, surfing among four sports to win Paris 2024 Olympics spots (France24)
Breakdancing, surfing, skateboarding and sports climbing won a spot in the 2024 Paris Olympics when the International Olympic Committee ratified their inclusion on Monday, IOC President Thomas Bach said.
The Paris 2024 organising committee had last year proposed the four sports for inclusion and was waiting on a final review by the IOC’s Executive Board.
Surfing, climbing and skateboarding are already part of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, having been proposed along with karate by the Japanese hosts.
Paris Games organisers have said they want to deliver a programme that is in keeping with the times and will attract a new and younger audience. Read more
Lloyd Austin: Biden picks ex-general as defence secretary (BBC)
US President-elect Joe Biden has chosen retired General Lloyd Austin as his defence secretary, US media report.
If approved, the 67-year-old who retired in 2016 would become the first African-American to lead the Pentagon.
He would need a congressional waiver as seven years are required between active duty and becoming military chief.
Mr Biden has been facing calls including from Democratic Asian, Black and Latino caucuses to nominate minorities to senior cabinet posts. Read more
Real Madrid’s hope hanging by a thread in crucial European night (Vanguard)
Real Madrid value success in the Champions League above all else, but the 13-time champions head into Wednesday’s game against Borussia Moenchengladbach with their qualification hopes hanging by a thread.
Should they suffer a humiliating group stage exit, ending their remarkable run as the only team to ever avoid elimination at this phase, coach Zinedine Zidane’s future will be at risk.
A win for either side in the Spanish capital will guarantee them passage through to the last 16 from Group B.
If Madrid draw and Shakhtar win or draw with Inter Milan in the other group match, the Spanish giants will be out. Read more
Lewis Hamilton: Mercedes driver aims to return for season finale (BBC)
Lewis Hamilton says he is trying to get in shape to return for the final Grand Prix of the season this weekend after contracting coronavirus.
The Mercedes driver missed last weekend’s Sakhir Grand Prix after testing positive on 1 December.
He requires a negative test before he can leave isolation in Bahrain.
“It has been one of the hardest weeks I’ve had for some time,” the world champion said in a video posted on social media.
“I’ve just been focusing on recovering and trying to get back in shape.” Read more
Messi desperate to face Ronaldo (Nation)
Barcelona talisman Lionel Messi is reportedly desperate to line up against Juventus forward Cristiano Ronaldo when the two clubs do battle in the Champions League tonight.
Barca and Juve have already qualified for the last 16 and the midweek clash is nothing more than a dead rubber, and Ronald Koeman would normally be expected to rest Messi for this tie.
The six-time Ballon d’Or winner has not featured in La Blaugrana’s recent wins over Dynamo Kiev and Ferencvaros, but Messi did not get the chance to play against Ronaldo earlier this year due to the Portuguese’s positive coronavirus test. Read more
Diego Maradona: Argentine senator suggests putting Maradona on banknotes (BBC)
An Argentine senator has proposed putting an image of the late football star Diego Maradona on new banknotes.
Maradona, who led Argentina to the 1986 World Cup title, died two weeks ago at the age of 60.
Senator Norma Durango presented the bill to Congress on Monday to get the late player on the 1,000-peso ($12, £9) note, the highest denomination.
It would feature Maradona’s face on one side and a picture of one of his most famous goals on the other, she said. Read more
Inter look to Lukaku for Champions League survival (Guardian)
Inter Milan are counting on prolific striker Romelu Lukaku to power the former three-time winners into the Champions League last 16 on Wednesday in a must-win clash against Shakhtar Donetsk.
The Belgian scored a double in a 3-2 win over Borussia Moenchengladbach last time out to keep the Italian giants alive in the continental competition whose knockout rounds they have not reached since the 2011-2012 season.
Bottom of Group B, Inter need to win at the San Siro and for ‘Gladbach and Real Madrid not to draw their match. Read more
South Africa v England: Tourists’ ‘unconfirmed’ coronavirus cases declared false (BBC)
Two members of England’s touring party who gave “unconfirmed positive” coronavirus tests will be able to return to the UK from South Africa after further testing and analysis showed they are not infected.
The cases in the England camp were announced on Sunday before the tour was abandoned a day later.
But England say the duo have been given the all-clear by “independent virologists in Cape Town and London”.
England will fly home on Thursday.
Had the pair not been cleared they would have had to remain in South Africa until 15 December. Read more