Presidential Poll: Court adjourns Obi’s petition against Tinubu till May 17 (Vanguard)
The Presidential Election Petition Tribunal, PEPC, sitting in Abuja has deferred further proceedings on the petition the candidate of the Labour Party, LP, Mr. Peter Obi, filed to challenge the outcome of the 2023 presidential election, to May 17.
The adjournment followed an agreement by all the parties in the matter.
Cited as 1st to 4th respondents in the petition are the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC; the President-elect, Bola Tinubu; Vice-President-elect, Kashim Shettima, and All Progressives Congress, APC. Read more
Court bars NBC from imposing fines on broadcast stations (Channels)
Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court Abuja has given an order of perpetual injunction restraining the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) from imposing fines on broadcast stations in the country.
Justice Omotosho also set aside the N500,000 fines imposed on each of the 45 broadcast stations on March 1, 2019.
Delivering the judgment, he described NBC’s act as being ultra vires.
He also held that NBC, not being a court of law, had no power to impose sanctions as punishment on broadcast stations. Read more
Tinubu heads for europe 18 days to inauguration (DailyTrust)
President-elect Bola Tinubu has departed Nigeria for Europe, Tunde Rahman, Tinubu’s media aide, has revealed.
In a statement on Wednesday, Rahman said the incoming president left Abuja on Wednesday afternoon with some of his key aides.
“The trip will reduce unnecessary pressures and distractions on the President-Elect ahead of the May 29 inauguration.” Read more
States yet to access N46bn matching grants-UBEC (Sun)
Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) said on Wednesday, that some state governments are yet to access matching grants meant for the development of public basic education system in their states.
UBEC said that while some states are yet to access two to three years grant, Anambra state was yet to access 2019 matching grant as at April 30th, 2023, that would have helped the state to further develop its basic education system.
Acting Executive Secretary of UBEC, Prof. Bala Zakari, told members of Senate Committee on Basic and Secondary Education who were on oversight visit to the Commission, in Abuja, that over N46 billion matching grants for the development of public primary and junior secondary schools has remained un-accessed by some state governments. Read more
Lagos seeks support of World Bank for massive provision of housing schemes (Independent)
Lagos State Government has sought increased collaboration with the World Bank for the development of mass housing schemes in the State.
This appeal was made during a working visit of a team led by Dr. Fuad Malkawi, Senior Urban Development Specialist and the Spatial Planning Community of Practice Leader at the World Bank to the Ministry of Housing, Lagos State.
During the visit, the Commissioner Housing Lagos State Hon. Moruf Akinderu-Fatai called for partnership with the World Bank to ensure that the vision of housing for all in Lagos Mega City is attained. Read more
Teacher in court for beating 9-year-old pupil (Punch)
A 35-year-old woman, Aderonke Makinde, was on Tuesday arraigned at the Ogba Magistrates’ Court sitting in the Ikeja area of Lagos State for allegedly flogging a nine-year-old girl, Oyinkansola Kayode, with a cane at her school, Westgate Land Imperial Creche, Nursery and Primary School in the Mushin area of Lagos State.
Makinde, who was arraigned before Magistrate E. Kubenje, is facing one count of assault.
The police prosecutor, Ajayi Kehinde, a Deputy Superintendent of Police, told the court that the defendant committed the offence on March 28, 2023. Read more
Panic as explosion rocks Air Force base in Abuja (Leadership)
There was palpable panic as the explosion rocked the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) fuel storage facility located at its Abuja Base.
The NAF Base is located close to the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja.
LEADERSHIP earlier reported a fire outbreak at the NAF Base.
According to source, while there was no casualty recorded, the level of damage at the facility could not be ascertained as at the time of this report. Read more
17 teenagers die in Sokoto boat mishap (Nation)
No fewer than 17 boys and girls perished in a boat mishap in the Dandeji river in Shagari local government of Sokoto State.
The incident, which occurred in the morning hours, according to the chairman of the council, Aliyu Dantani, when the boat capsized.
Dantani said the deceased have been buried according to Islamic rites after local divers recovered their bodies. Read more
Sunny Hostin’s new novel is a love letter to a historic black beach community (TheRoot)
Fans of The View know Sunny Hostin as someone who can hold her own among the often-opinionated panel in their daily discussions of the latest hot topics. But you may not know that the lawyer and television host is also a bestselling author who just released a steamy new beach read. “Summer on Sag Harbor” is the latest novel from the three-time Emmy award-winning co-host and the second book in her “Summer” beach read trilogy.
The Root caught up with Hostin to discuss her new book and how she’s answered the call to make beach reads more inclusive.
On Writing the Books She Wants to Read
Hostin, who released her memoir, “I Am These Truths: A Memoir of Identity, Justice, and Living Between Worlds,” in 2021, says she’s been writing short stories since her children, now 17 and 20, were little. Read more
Catherine Tate to deliver UK’s jury scores in Eurovision grand final (ITV)
Catherine Tate will become the face of the UK as she delivers the scores during the grand final of the Eurovision Song Contest.
The actress and comedian, 53, will deliver the results of the country’s national jury – including the coveted ‘douze points’ – live from the M&S Bank Arena in Liverpool on Saturday.
It will be the first time a UK spokesperson has announced the scores from the same location as the contest itself. Read more
Frankie Goes to Hollywood story to hit big screen after reunion (BBC)
The story of seminal 1980s pop band Frankie Goes to Hollywood is to be turned into a film musical.
Titled Relax, it is named after their first single, which was famously banned by the BBC before going on to top the charts for five weeks.
The film will be based on singer Holly Johnson’s memoir A Bone in My Flute, with the frontman to be played by It’s A Sin’s Callum Scott Howells. Read more
”Run Rabbit Run” trailer: Sarah Snook of ‘Succession’ stars in horror film (UPI)
Netflix is giving a glimpse of the new film “Run Rabbit Run”.
The streaming service shared a trailer for the Australian psychological horror film Wednesday featuring Succession star Sarah Snook.
“Run Rabbit Run” is written by Hannah Kent and directed by Daina Reid.
The film follows Sarah (Snook), a single mother whose sister Alice went missing when they were kids. The character becomes increasingly frightened by her daughter Mia (Lily LaTorre) claiming to be Alice. Read more
Tim Burton’s ‘‘Beetlejuice 2’’ lands September 2024 release date (People)
Beetlejuice is back in business.
PEOPLE confirmed Tuesday that a sequel to director Tim Burton’s 1988 film is scheduled to hit theaters on Sept. 6, 2024, 36 years after the original.
The news follows multiple reports in March that Wednesday’s Jenna Ortega is in talks to star in the Warner Bros. sequel as the daughter of Winona Ryder’s Lydia, one of the main characters in the original.
Michael Keaton is also expected to return in the film as Beetlejuice, with production supposedly kicking off in London this summer, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Read more
Storry Releases the Powerful Video for “I Don’t Wanna Get High” (Complex)
Two-time Juno Award nominated artist Storry has just dropped the new video for “I Don’t Wanna Get High” from her album CH III: The Come Up Deluxe.
In the Canada/UK artist’s words, the song and video come from a personal place, telling the story of a woman who has fallen into sex-trafficking. As a young adult, Storry was groomed into entering the sex industry.
“I used to call the clear platform stilettos that I’d wear at the strip club, Cinderella slippers,” Storry said. “It sounded nicer. I mean, who else wears ‘glass’ slippers?! I desperately wanted to get out of that line of work after surviving sex-trafficking, but I also needed money and I didn’t really know how to find support in finding a path to my dream of being a musician. I had to reclaim the strip-club and my body for myself. I speak on sex-trafficking in hopes that it will allow people to realize that this problem is closer to us than we think.” Read more
How an unknown book went viral and ended up on Amazon’s bestseller list – in less than 24 hours (HuffPost)
Book lovers everywhere know the power the internet and social media have when trying to promote a book – it’s the reason why Booktok is all the rage right now. So much so, that BookTok helped authors sell 20 million printed books in 2021, according to BookScan.
Now we have the option of buying books directly from the app from publishers like HarperCollins UK, WH Smith, Bloomsbury, and bookshop.org all selling books via TikTok Shop.
But you’ll never guess how one specific book managed to go viral on Twitter. Twitter user Bigolas Dickolas Wolfwood (@MaskofBun) runs a fan account for a 90′s anime called Trigun. He simply tweeted about his love for the book This Is How You Lose The Time War by Max Gladstone, and the tweet went wild. Read more
Onazi launches maiden football scouting clinic (Sun)
The maiden edition of the Ogenyi Onazi Football Scouting Clinic (OOFSC) is set to take place at The Stable, Union Bank, in Surulere, Lagos, from June 6 – 9, 2023. The clinic will showcase some of the best football talents in the country.
The OOFSC is committed to providing opportunities for aspiring young football players to showcase their skills and achieve their dreams of becoming a professional footballer. The scouting clinic will bring together players from all over the country, giving them a chance to impress scouts from various professional teams around the world, who will be in attendance.
“The scouting tournament is an excellent opportunity for players to demonstrate their skills and catch the attention of professional teams,” said the event host, international footballer, Onazi. “We are excited to see the level of talent that will be on display, and we are confident that we can help some of these players to become successful professional footballers.” Read more
Sanwo-Olu hints at working with Osimhen ‘‘to take football in Lagos to greater heights’’ (Guardian)
Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has said he looks forward to working together with Super Eagles and Napoli forward Victor Osimhen to improve football in Lagos.
Osimhen last Thursday scored the all-important goal to help Napoli win the Italian Serie A title for the first time in 33-years after playing out a 1-1 draw with Udinese.
Napoli needed just one point against Udinese at the Dacia Arena so as to win this season’s Serie A title and the Nigerian attacker came to the party. Read more
Sergio Busquets to leave Barcelona after trophy-laden 18-year spell (ESPN)
Sergio Busquets will leave Barcelona when his contract expires this summer, the club announced on Wednesday, bringing to an end a spell that has seen him win eight LaLiga titles and three Champions Leagues.
Busquets, 34, had an offer to extend his stay at Spotify Camp Nou, with Barca coach Xavi Hernandez expressing his desire for the club captain to remain at the club.
However, after 18 years at the Catalan club — and 15 in the first team — Busquets has decided to spend the final years of his playing career elsewhere. Read more
Beth Mead: England forward “ahead of schedule” in ACL injury recovery (BBC)
England and Arsenal forward Beth Mead says she is “ahead of schedule” in the recovery from her anterior cruciate ligament injury but is unsure whether she will be fit for the World Cup.
The 28-year-old has been out since November after rupturing her ACL in a Women’s Super League loss to Manchester United.
England face Haiti in their opening World Cup game in Australia on 22 July. Read more
PGA Championship 2023: Tiger Woods missing from field; Jordan Spieth listed despite wrist injury (Sky)
Tiger Woods has officially been ruled out of the PGA Championship after the 15-time major champion was not included in the field for the second major of the year.
The PGA of America confirmed the entry list for next week’s event at Oak Hill Country Club, live from May 18 on Sky Sports Golf, with Woods a notable absentee as he continues to recover from injury.
Woods was widely expected to miss the event, a tournament he has won four times, after withdrawing mid-round from The Masters ahead of undergoing “successful” ankle surgery later that month. Read more
Audi continue F1 recruitment drive with number of key positions listed
(PlanetF1)
Audi have continued their efforts to be ready for their 2026 arrival on the grid by listing a number of employee vacancies.
The German manufacturer will enter the sport as a power unit supplier and also as the strategic partner of Sauber with the Swiss team being rebranded with the four rings.
Even three years out, work is well underway to prepare Audi for their first foray into the F1 world and Oliver Hoffmann, member of the board of management for technical development at Audi AG, said at last month’s Auto Shanghai that “the foundation of our drivetrain for 2026 is being laid today.” Read more