Policeman kills wife, self in Lagos (Guardian)
A policeman has allegedly shot himself after killing his wife for filing a divorce against him.
The policeman, simply identified as Edward and attached to the Highway Patrol, was living with his wife, an inspector with the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) inside the prison barracks at Awolowo Road, Ikoyi, Lagos State.
It was gathered that the tragedy occurred on Sunday night during a scuffle between the couple. A neighbour who spoke on the condition of anonymity said there was a previous quarrel between the couple in their flat, which snowballed into a fight. Read more
Man drowns while searching for dredger (Punch)
Amuda Azeez has drowned while searching for a dredger that fell into the water at a mining site in the Ilaje area of Ajah, Lagos State.
PUNCH Metro gathered that Azeez and his colleagues were dredging the water when the machine, known as sucker, cut from its wire, fell into the water and caused them to stop operation.
In a bid to recover the machine, our correspondent learnt that the manager of the company that Amuda worked for requested the services of a swimmer, who charged them N40,000, to recover the fallen machine from the water. Read more
Respite for roads as Lagos-Ibadan rail line opens for test-run, free rides in November (Guardian)
For many frequent road travellers who dread the daily carnage on the highways owing to road accidents and loss of man-hours to traffic, the disclosure by the Minister for Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, yesterday that the Lagos-Ibadan rail line is almost set for completion is a relief that would put an end to many hassles and travails of road users on one of the nation’s busiest highways.
In a series of tweets yesterday, Amaechi stated that test-run and free rides would commence at the end of next month (November). He wrote: “I just mandated our Chinese contractors on the Lagos-Ibadan rail line to ensure completion of at least one of the tracks up to Ebute Metta station by the end of November. They have to triple their output to make up for the rainy days. Read more
Buhari to spend 20 days in S/Arabia, UK (DailyTrust)
Already spent 227 days in London President Muhammadu Buhari will on Saturday, November 2, 2019, from Saudi Arabia proceed to the United Kingdom on a private visit.
The president, who left the country yesterday on an official trip to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to attend the Economic Forum of the Future Investment Initiative (FII) in Riyadh, will spend five days in the country before leaving for the UK. Read more
We didn’t lose valuables to Saturday fire – FIRS (Punch)
The Federal Inland Revenue Service said on Monday it lost nothing critical to its operations to the Saturday fire outbreak at its headquarters in Abuja.
It said all that got burnt were disused computers and some stationery, “which were kept at the canteen located at Annex 1 of the headquarters where old and disused computers awaiting disposal are kept.”
The Head, Communications and Servicom Department, FIRS, Wahab Gbadamosi, said this in a statement on Monday.
Gbadamosi said the fire started at 5.10pm on Saturday and that “officials of the Federal Capital Territory Fire Service arrived at the scene a couple of minutes after the fire began and worked with security and safety officers of the FIRS to put it out within two hours.” Read more
Minimum wage negotiations: FEC can’t decide for states – Govs (Punch)
Negotiations over consequential salary adjustments on the N30,000 minimum wage may run into a storm in states as the Nigeria Governors’ Forum on Monday said states would not pay above their capacities.
The Chairman of the NGF and Governor of Ekiti State, Dr Kayode Fayemi, who stated this after the forum’s meeting in Abuja said the Federal Executive Council could not decide for states.
But organised labour lashed out at the NGF chairman and warned him against statements that could trigger industrial crises in states. Read more
Confusion as armed soldiers invade Osun police command headquarters (Vanguard)
Some armed soldiers on Monday afternoon, besieged Osun State Command headquarters of the Nigeria police force in Osogbo, creating tension in the area.
According to some traders with shops near the police headquarters, three of the soldiers had already entered into the command’s premises before others were stopped at the gate.
The traders around the state command hurriedly closed their shops for fear of unknown as the soldiers were wielding arms and does not want to be caught in any eventualities. Read more
Youths trained in digital marketing (Nation)
Fifty youths were at the weekend trained in digital marketing by the Chairman of Ifako-Ijaye Local Government Area of Lagos State, Apostle Oloruntoba Oke, as part of his commitment to reducing youth unemployment.
The training, which was part of the council chairman’s campaign promises on capacity development, was designed to teach the youth areas such as Search Engine Optimisation, Social Media Branding, Video Marketing, Social Media Marketing, and Google Advert, among others. Read more
DPR suspends fuel loading in Lagos communities (Punch)
The Department of Petroleum Resources has suspended further loading of fuel from depots and tank farms in Satellite Town and Ijegun with a view to addressing some environmental issues in the communities.
The Assistant Director, Downstream, DPR, Dr Akenn Musa, made the disclosure on Monday during a protest by members of the Satellite Town Forum against the alleged degradation of their environment by oil merchants.
Musa said the DPR placed high premium on the health of Nigerians, noting that it would not support activities that would impinge on the life of any Nigerian. Read more
Controversy as Buhari again mulls private UK visit (Guardian)
Both condemnation and justification yesterday trailed the official disclosure that President Muhammadu Buhari would again travel to the United Kingdom on a private visit.
“President Muhammadu Buhari will on Saturday, November 2, 2019, proceed to the United Kingdom on a private visit. He is expected to return to Nigeria on November 17, 2019,” said Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity Femi Adesina in a statement.
The president, meanwhile, left the country yesterday on an official trip to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to attend the Economic Forum of the Future Investment Initiative (FII) in Riyadh. On the sidelines of the event, he will hold bilateral talks with His Majesty King Salman and His Majesty King Abdullah II of Jordan. Read more
Government gives condition for reopening borders (Guardian)
The Federal Government’s decision to shut the nation’s land borders against neigbouring countries will remain, despite any short-term losses, until they ratify Nigeria’s proposed anti-smuggling policy, according to Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Godwin Emefiele.
Emefiele, who held a closed-door meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, yesterday, noted that since the closure, Nigerian rice and poultry farmers had been benefitting from the development.
According to him, the farmers have been able to market all their accumulated produce, which were before now left unsold as a result of illegal importation and smuggling of the items into the country. Read more
Pulisic relieved at finally making his mark for Chelsea (Guardian)
Chelsea’s Christian Pulisic says he felt a “sense of relief” after he netted a hat-trick against Burnley on Saturday after a difficult start to his time at the Premier League club.
The 21-year-old American international — who cost the club £58 million ($74 million) when they signed him from Borussia Dortmund last season — became the youngest Chelsea player to score a hat-trick in the 4-2 win.
Pulisic has ostensibly been signed to replace outstanding playmaker Eden Hazard, who left for Real Madrid in the close season, but has taken time to settle in. Read more
Halep mounts raging comeback for win over Andreescu (DailyTrust)
Wimbledon champion Simona Halep saved a match point in the second set and then powered to a rousing comeback victory over Canadian sensation Bianca Andreescu at the WTA Finals on Monday. The No 5 seed prevailed with a gruelling 3-6, 7-6 (8/6), 6-3 win in two hours and 34 minutes at the Shenzhen Bay Sports Centre. Read more
City slap £100m on Jesus (Punch)
Manchester City will demand £100m for striker Gabriel Jesus with Bayern Munich interested in signing the Brazilian, according to a report.
The 22-year-old has been a key figure for City since joining from Palmeiras, scoring his 50th goal for the club in last weekend’s 2-0 win over Crystal Palace.
Bayern’s interest in winger Leroy Sane during the summer was clear to see but according to The Sun, the German champions are also keen on Jesus. Read more
Complaining is not in my vocabulary, says Guardiola (Guardian)
Pep Guardiola says he hates the word “complain” and will never lash out at his Manchester City players after a defeat.
But he isn’t afraid to let rip when the Premier League champions win, just as he did after their 3-0 win over Aston Villa on Saturday.
The 48-year-old Spaniard — whose side are six points off leaders Liverpool — says he prefers to bite his tongue in the wake of a defeat. Read more
PSG willing to sell Neymar for £199m (Punch)
Paris Saint-Germain will be reportedly prepared to sell Neymar back to Barcelona for a fee of £199m next summer.
The Brazilian, who moved to the Parc des Princes for a world record sum of £198m in 2017, pushed hard for a return to the Camp Nou over the summer transfer window.
However, no such deal materialised due to the La Liga side’s attempts to strike a player-plus-cash deal, with PSG only interested in a flat fee.
According to a report from Spain, the French club have decided that they will agree to Neymar’s departure should Barcelona lodge a bid worth £199m. Read more
Ibenegbu confident Rangers will reach Confed Cup group stage (DailyTrust)
Enugu Rangers experienced midfielder, Ikechukwu Ibenegbu has expressed confidence that the ‘flying antelopes’ will still progress to the group stage of the CAF Confederation Cup despite losing 1-2 to ASC Kara of Togo. The Nigerian representatives were running away with a draw in the first leg of the Confederation Cup playoff in Lome on Sunday but the host struck on the dead to pocket the maximum points. Read more
Rivers sign MoU with Real Madrid (Nation)
RIVERS State Government and Real Madrid Football Club have signed a ratification agreement for the development of the state government’s Real Madrid Academy, Port Harcourt, into an international football academy.
The agreement signing took place yesterday at the Presidency Reception Centre of the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, which is the home of Real Madrid Football Club in Madrid, Spain.
A statement by Simeon Nwakaudu, Special Assistant to the River state Governor (Electronic Media) stated: “The signature of the ratification Protocol was executed by the Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike, and the Executive Vice President of Real Madrid Football Club Foundation, Enrique Sanchez.” Read more
Overhead goal against Juve my best– Ronaldo (Punch)
Cristiano Ronaldo says his overhead kick for Real Madrid against Juventus is the favourite of his 701 career goals.
The Portuguese star reached the historic 700-goal milestone while playing for his country earlier in October, a simple penalty in a defeat to Ukraine.
The 700th goal came in his 973rd game, of which he scored at least once in 458 of them, over 17 years. Read more
Dare talks tough, says no federation bigger than sports ministry (DailyTrust)
The Minister of Sports and Youth Development Mr. Sunday Dare The Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Sunday Dare has asserted his ministry’s authority in supervising the country’s sporting federations declaring that no sports federation is bigger than the supervisory ministry He stated this while receiving the reports from the eight man investigative panel who reviewed the participation of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) at the recently concluded 2019 World Athletics Championships in Doha, Qatar. Read more
Southampton squad donate wages to charity after Leicester thrashing (Vanguard)
Southampton have donated their wages from last Friday’s historic 0-9 thrashing at the hands of Leicester to charity.
The club have revealed the players have been working at the Staplewood training centre throughout the weekend as they look to put right the devastation at St Mary’s – the Premier League’s biggest-ever away win.
“As the first step towards that, the group has decided that they wish to donate their wages from the day of the Leicester game to Saints Foundation, in order to help the vital work that is conducted by the charity,” the club said. “The players and staff are now directing all their energy and focus towards the two games in Manchester this week.” Read more