Power-drunk ex-defence chief’s son damages car, beats owner (Punch)
A naval officer, Kayode Petinrin, has been accused of assaulting a Lagos motorist, identified simply as Sola, in the CMS area of Lagos State.
PUNCH Metro gathered that the officer also damaged Sola’s car while trying to manoeuvre on the Bus Rapid Transit lane along the axis on Tuesday.
Our correspondents learnt that when Sola complained about his damaged car, the officer allegedly beat him up.
Kayode is said to be the son of a former Chief of Defence Staff, Oluseyi Petinrin, a retired Air Chief Marshal. Read more
Govt agencies, marketers agree to end petrol scarcity in 48 hours (Vanguard)
Federal Government agencies and petroleum marketers have undertaken to end the crippling shortage of petrol across the country that has seen pump prices hit N285 per litre.
Speaking after a meeting at the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, NMDPRA, in Abuja on Thursday, the operators said the depots would work for 24 hours daily until the queues are cleared.
The meeting had in attendance officials of the Department of State Services, the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria, Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria, Independent Petroleum Marketers of Nigeria, National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas workers, National Association of Road Transport Owners, among others.
The Executive Secretary, MOMAN, Clement Isong, told journalists that operators would ensure that they implemented the decisions reached at the meeting. Read more
Cash withdrawal: Emefiele insists on limits, Reps demand suspension (Guardian)
The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, on Thursday, said the Nigerian economy was overdue to go cashless as the Federal Government had sufficiently invested in the required payment system infrastructure to make the transition seamless.
Emefiele said this shortly after meeting the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), at his native hometown of Daura, Katsina State.
Controversies have trailed the CBN’s latest policy which limits daily cash withdrawals to N20, 000 and weekly withdrawals of N100,000 for individuals.
But defending the CBN’s directive, Emefiele said, “I think it’s important for me to say that the cashless policy started in 2012. But on almost three to four occasions, we had to step down the policy because we felt that there is a need for us to prepare ourselves and deepen our payment system infrastructure in Nigeria. Read more
Peter Obi to speak at Chatham House Jan 16 (Vanguard)
The Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi has been invited to speak at Chatham House about his presidential ambition ahead of the 2023 election.
Obi, former governor of Anambra State, is to attend the event slated for January 16, 2023 in London, the United Kingdom.
In a tweet on Thursday, Chatham House Africa announced the invite , saying, “Nigeria’s 2023 Elections: In conversation with @PeterObi“The second of our events examining #Nigeria’s 2023 elections and political developments will take place on January 16, 2023.
Obi’s rival, the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu had on Monday, December 5 made an appearance at Chatham House in London, where he revealed some of his plans for major sectors like defense, economy, education, and technology. Read more
Forfeited vehicles: Bidders accuse auction house, EFCC of shady deals (Guardian)
Prospective bidders for the forfeited vehicles being auctioned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), yesterday, lamented what they called shady deals by the auction house in Lagos and officials of the Agency.
The bidders, who thronged the Lagos offices for the conclusion of the process, yesterday, said the anti-graft agency did not have access to where the vehicles were parked, but only displayed the pictures of vehicles with allocated lot numbers for public inspection.
The Agency, on Wednesday, December 7, 2022 commenced the auctioning of a total of 435 vehicles seized by the anti-graft agency.
The assets are subjects of final forfeiture orders in Lagos, in line with the EFCC (Establishment) Act 2004; Public Procurement Act 2007 and the Proceeds of Crimes (Recovery and Management) Act 2022.
The items were available in four locations: 40, Bourdillon Road, Ikoyi, Lagos; 15A Awolowo Road, Ikoyi, Lagos; 14 Cameron Road, Ikoyi Lagos and CVU Obalende, Ikoyi, Lagos. Read more
Influencer post puts varsity-dropout food seller in limelight (Vanguard)
A Port Harcourt-based food ‘mama put’ seller, Favour Otuomasirichi Ndukwe, has been recently put in the limelight by Nigerian South African-based tech-driven entrepreneur and CEO of Gemsbok Group, Dr. Charles Awuzie, through his viral Facebook post that encouraged his followers to support the food business of Favour.
Favour − a 22-year-old, third-year student of Food Science and Technology at the Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike, Abia State – dropped out of the university a year ago due to financial challenges to set up a food business to cater for herself and her family.
According to Favour, she got Awuzie’s attention through a social media post that gospel singer and minister, Judikay, made about her and her business.
She added that, prior to the post of Awuzie, Judikay had supported her with money to rent a shop for her business. Read more
Frank urges Bayelsa govt to probe Sylva over alleged certificate forgery (Leadership)
A former deputy national publicity secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Timi Frank, on Thursday, called on the Bayelsa State Government to urgently commence a probe into allegations of certificate forgery and identity theft against the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva.
An anti-corruption group, Citizens Initiative for Better Nigeria, had on Wednesday asked Sylva to respond to the allegations against him to that effect in a recent lawsuit.
Recall that the Incorporated Trustees of Transparency Advocacy for Development Initiative (TADI) had in a suit marked
FHC/ABJ/CS/1563/2022 dragged the Minister to court over alleged conflicting names on his certificates.
Some of the names, according to the group include: Anagha Timipere, Marlin Anagha Timipre, Anagha Timipre Marlin and Chief Timipre Sylva. Read more
MBF commends Nigerian military for resisting overtures to compromise elections (Vanguard)
The Middle Belt Forum, MBF, has commended the military for resisting overtures from those who do not mean well for the country to compromise elections in the country.
The Forum also warned the political class to desist from selfish actions that could jeopardize Nigeria’s democratic development.
The National President of MBF, Dr. Bitrus Pogu was Thursday in Makurdi reacting to comments by the Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Lucky Irabor that the military were under pressure to compromise elections but that they would remain neutral.
According to Dr. Pogu, “that statement by the Chief of Defence Staff shows that our military is standing up to its role of defending the territorial integrity of this country. When our military stands up as an established institution then our democracy will survive. Read more
Nick Carter responds to underage rape allegations from autistic fan (PageSix)
Nick Carter is denying the bombshell claims that he allegedly raped a fan when she was underage back in 2001.
“This claim about an incident that supposedly took place more than 20 years ago is not only legally meritless but also entirely untrue,” the Backstreet Boys member’s attorney Michael Holtz said in a statement obtained by Page Six.
“Unfortunately, for several years now, Ms. Ruth has been manipulated into making false allegations about Nick – and those allegations have changed repeatedly and materially over time. No one should be fooled by a press stunt orchestrated by an opportunistic lawyer – there is nothing to this claim whatsoever, which we have no doubt the courts will quickly realize.”
Shannon “Shay” Ruth held a press conference Thursday, in which she slammed Carter, 42, for allegedly sexually assaulting her when she was just 17 years old. Read more
Kanye West’s honorary degree rescinded from School of the Art Institute (THR)
Kanye “Ye” West’s honorary doctorate from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago has been rescinded, it was announced Thursday.
“The School of the Art Institute of Chicago condemns and repudiates Kanye West’s (now known as Ye) anti-Black, antisemitic, racist, and dangerous statements, particularly those directed at Black and Jewish communities. Ye’s actions do not align with SAIC’s mission and values, and we’ve rescinded his honorary degree,” SAIC officials said in a statement to The Chicago Sun-Times.
The honorary doctorate was awarded to the rapper in 2015.
The school’s decision comes amid an online petition launched by a group from the SAIC community formed on change.org calling on SAIC President Elissa Tenny to rescind the honorary degree following West’s recent antisemitic comments. “We informed the SAIC community this morning,” a school spokeswoman told the Sun-Times. Read more
Rick Ross’ rumoured girlfriend confirms romance, explains what attracted her to MMG boss (HipHopDX)
Rick Ross‘ relationship status appears to have been confirmed by his long-rumoured girlfriend and multifaceted media personality Vena “Pretty Vee” Excell.
During her visit to REVOLT‘s Black Girl Stuff talk show, Vee revealed she and the Biggest Bawse are an item. Rumours of the two being a couple has floated around for months, with images and videos showing the pair together surfacing online.
Fans have been trying to figure out if the union is indeed real, and their questions have been answered. According to Vee, Ross’ boss-like persona and elite leadership qualities are what attracted her to the rapper.
“It’s the boss,” Vee said. “I think it’s the boss in him. I just think he’s like, you know, I like guys who lead. So when you’re a leader, you can step to me, you know?” Read more
Stephen King’s iconic novel series The Dark Tower heads to the small screen (DailyMail)
Five years after Sony Pictures’ underwhelming movie adaptation, Stephen King’s iconic novel series The Dark Tower is heading to the small screen.
Mike Flanagan (The Haunting of Hill House) is creating and executive producing a new TV adaptation of The Dark Tower through the Intrepid Pictures company he runs with Trevor Macy, according to Deadline.
The news comes just days after Flanagan and Macy’s Intrepid Pictures signed a new overall deal with Amazon Studios (after four years at Netflix), though it’s unclear if Amazon – which had a different Dark Tower pilot in development in 2018 before it was shuttered in 2020 – will board the project or not.
Flanagan revealed that both he and Macy had acquired the rights to The Dark Tower from author King himself, after sending him a ‘detailed outline’ of how he envisions the series. Read more
Luca Guadagnino-directed adaptation of Queer with Daniel Craig in works (Deadline)
Luca Guadagnino is looking to mount a feature take of the William S. Burroughs novel Queer with Daniel Craig in the lead as his next project. The Call Me By Your Name Oscar nominee is the process of raising financing for the project.
Queer follows Lee, who recounts his life in Mexico City among American expatriate college students and bar owners surviving on part-time jobs and GI Bill benefits. Lee is self-conscious, insecure and driven to pursue a young man named Allerton, who is based on Adelbert Lewis Marker (1930-1998), a recently discharged American Navy serviceman from Jacksonville, FL, who befriended Burroughs in Mexico City. The novel is a sequel to Burroughs’ Junkie and centers on the Naked Lunch author off of heroin. Queer was published in 1985 through written between 1951 and 1953.
We’ve known about this for a while. Guadagnino may have been an Oscar contender in Bones and All which was picked up by MGM. That reteam with Timothee Chalamet, a cannibal love story, didn’t really resonate at the Thanksgiving box office given its grim theme grossing only $11M WW but took prizes at Venice Film Festival for Best Director and actress Taylor Russell as Best Young Actress. Read more
Children stopped sleeping and eating to play Fornite – lawsuit (BBC)
Fortnite has become one of the most lucrative game franchises in the world by selling character “skins”
A Canadian judge has approved a class-action lawsuit brought by three parents who say their children became addicted to video game Fortnite.
The plaintiffs say their children would forgo sleeping, eating and showering because they were hooked on the game.
In court filings, they noted that the World Health Organization recognised video-game addiction in 2018.
The lawsuit is against the game’s maker, Epic Games, and its Canadian subsidiary. Read more
Jennifer Lawrence awkwardly claims she was first-ever female lead in an action movie (Metro)
Jennifer Lawrence slipped up when she incorrectly claimed she was the first ever female to lead an action movie – and Twitter won’t let her forget about it.
The Silver Linings Playbook actor, who welcomed her first child with husband Cooke Maroney earlier this year, soared to fame as Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games film series, based on Suzanne Collins’ bestselling books.
The first instalment of the survival drama hit cinema screens in 2012 and saw the dystopian world of Panem brought to life, with 24 tributes being forced to fight to the death in the annual Hunger Games.
Reflecting on the blockbuster trilogy, Jennifer, 32, awkwardly said she became the first leading female role in an action movie when she was cast more than a decade ago. Read more
Iwobi eyes end to Everton’s trophy drought (Punch)
Nigeria international, Alex Iwobi, is optimistic he and teammates can help Everton put an end to their 28-year trophy drought, after impressing in the current season with the club, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.
Iwobi joined the Toffees from Arsenal on a five-year deal for a fee around £34m in 2019 and has been in superlative form for the Merseysiders since last season, helping them escape relegation at the end of the last Premier League campaign.
It was a tough season for the Toffees, having to fight hard to survive the drop on match-day 27, after beating Crystal Palace 3-2 at Goodison Park to confirm their safety, with Iwobi also turning his form around and becoming one of Everton’s best players towards the end of the season, starting all of their last 12 matches.
The 26-year-old has carried on his form this season, winning the hearts of Everton fans with his work rate, which has earned him a goal and five assists already in 15 Premier League appearances. Read more
Arsenal trash Lyon 3-0 in Dubai Super Cup (Vanguard)
Arsenal returned to action in style with a stunning 3-0 victory over Lyon in the Dubai Super Cup.
Mikel Arteta’s side also collected a bonus point with a 2-1 penalty shootout win.
Goals from Gabriel Magalhaes, Eddie Nketiah and Fabio Vieira were enough to give the Premier League leaders an emphatic win over the French side despite fielding a team made up of academy players. Read more
Balogun opens on Eagles World Cup ouster (Punch)
Super Eagles defender, Leon Balogun, has opened up on the country’s failure to qualify for the ongoing 2022 World Cup in Qatar, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.
The Eagles chances of taking part at football’s showpiece event were dented after playing a 1-1 draw with archrivals Ghana at the Moshood Abiola Stadium in Abuja during the qualifiers early this year.
A Thomas Party 10 minutes long range strike beat Francis Uzoho to put the Black Stars in commanding position before stand-in captain William Troost-Ekong equalised from the spot.
The three-time Africa champions however failed to score the all-important goal to secure a spot for the Mundial in Qatar leaving fans devastated. Read more
Riyad Mahrez ”really proud” of Morocco after Arab nation’s historic World Cup run (National)
The success of Morocco at the World Cup will help grow the size of the fan base for African and Arab football, according to Manchester City winger Riyad Mahrez.
The Atlas Lions face Portugal in the last eight of the Fifa World Cup Qatar 2022 on Saturday evening after defeating other European giants such as Spain and Belgium on the way. The fervour and number of their fans have been highlights of the competition and their support has extended beyond just Moroccans to Arabs across the region and the world.
“Of course, it’s very good to see this team doing well on the biggest stages like the World Cup,” said Mahrez, who is Algeria’s captain and winner of the African Cup of Nations in 2019.
Morocco are the fourth African side to ever make it to a World Cup quarter-final, and they are the first Arab team to do so. They are bidding to become the first African side to reach a World Cup semi-final. Read more
Loris Karius finally makes Newcastle debut and sends Liverpool Champions League warning (Mirror)
Newcastle are currently third in the Premier League table, eight points clear of Karius’ former club Liverpool in sixth having played a game more. It’s likely Howe’s side will need to finish above Jurgen Klopp’s team if they are to qualify for Europe’s primary competition.
Despite Newcastle’s mid-season advantage, that remains a tall order. Yet Karius is confident Newcastle can continue to defy expectations. “We have no limit, to be honest,” Karius told Newcastle’s website when asked about their Premier League target.
“It’s important we get a good start… and I’m positive we can achieve great things this season. I think the group has such a strong togetherness that’s very unique – and that’s what makes me positive that we will carry on the way we started before the break.”
Karius’ career has stalled since he made two costly mistakes in Liverpool’s Champions League final defeat to Real Madrid in May 2018. Although it was later revealed he suffered a concussion before those errors, he never played another competitive game for Liverpool. Read more
Tite defends Brazil World Cup goal celebrations (Guardian)
Brazil coach Tite has hit back at criticism of his players’ dancing goal celebrations in their World Cup win over South Korea, dismissing suggestions they showed a lack of respect.
The tournament favourites produced some carnival football as they crushed the Koreans 4-1 on Monday and celebrated their goals with choreographed moves, while even Tite himself joined in at one point.
The celebrations divided opinion outside Brazil and the dancing by Neymar and his teammates has been one of the main talking points going into Friday’s quarter-final clash with Croatia in Doha.
“This is not my national team. It is the Brazilian national team for which I have a responsibility as a coach,” Tite said when asked about the celebrations at a press conference on Thursday.
“I am sorry for people who don’t know the history and culture of Brazil and our way of being.” Read more