Reactions as Nigerians compare Tinubu, Fashola, Ambode, Sanwo-Olu govt (Vanguard)
Lagos State is the most populous state (and city) in Nigeria and on the African continent. Its population is expected to reach 88.3 million by 2100 ― almost three times the current population of Ghana and more than the current population of Kenya and South Africa.
Ahmed Tinubu, Babatunde Fashola, Akinwunmi Ambode are past governors of Lagos State in their respective order. Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu is the present governor of the state.
Nigerians have taken to the social media to express their opinion on the last four administrations’ performance especially on road constructions and the internal politics of the Lagos State APC. Read more
Jay Jay Okocha settles tax problems with Lagos IRS (PMNews)
Former Super Eagles’ playmaker, Augustine Jay Jay Okocha, accused by Lagos State Government of income tax evasion has finally settled with the Lagos taxman.
A Lagos State Prosecutor, Mrs Y. A. Pitan, told an Igbosere High Court on Wednesday in Lagos that the Lagos Internal Revenue Service informed it that Okocha visited its office and reconciled his accounts.
Pitan then prayed the court for an adjournment to enable her file a notice of discontinuance of the charge preferred against him. Read more
Senate Begins Debate on 2020 Appropriation Bill (ThisDay)
*Confirms Adewolu as NCC Executive Commissioner
The Senate on Wednesday commenced debate on the 2020 Appropriation Bill barely 24 hours after it was presented to a joint session of the National Assembly by President Muhammadu Buhari.
Senate Leader, Senator Yahaya Abdullahi, in his lead debate on the N10.33 trillion budget estimate stressed that the nation’s economy had been in doldrum since the last 30 years.
He emphasised that the legislature needs to do its utmost best to assist the executive in bringing the economy from the woods. Read more
FG may revoke Abuja, Ikeja, six Discos’ licences (Punch)
The federal government may cancel the licences of eight power distribution companies as the Discos breached some provisions of the Electric Power Sector Reform Act in July 2019.
According to the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, the eight power firms include Abuja, Benin, Enugu and Ikeja Discos.
Others are Kaduna, Kano, Port Harcourt and Yola Discos.
In a notice posted on its website on Tuesday evening, the power sector regulator said it intended to cancel licences issued to the eight Discos pursuant to Section 74 of the EPSR Act. Read more
Kaduna Sexual assault centres record 662 cases of abuse against women, children (DailyTrust)
A non-governmental organisation (NGO), Save the Children, on Wednesday said that sexual assault referral centers in Kaduna State had received a total of 662 cases of abuse against women and children since inception in 2016. Isah Ibrahim, an advocacy advisor with the NGO made the disclosure in Zaria, during a two-day sensitization workshop on Violence Against Children (VAC).
The workshop was organized by the National Orientation Agency (NOA) in collaboration with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). Read more
Gombe teenager stabs friend to death over food (Punch)
One Abubakar Abdullahi, 17, of the Idi Quarter, Gombe, has been arrested by the police for fatally stabbing 15-year-old Yusuf Suleiman following a dispute over the sharing formula of masa (rice cake) gift.
A long knife believed to be the murder weapon was recovered from the suspect. This was contained in a statement by the Police Public Relations Officer in the state, SP Mary Malum, which was obtained by Northern City News in Gombe on Tuesday. Malum said the suspect was arrested by policemen attached to the Gombe Division over a case of culpable homicide. Read more
Budget: Buhari plans massive development, works gets lion’s share (Punch)
President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday proposed the highest allocation of N262bn to the Ministry of Works and Housing, just as Power, Transportation and Defence followed with N123bn, N112bn and N100bn, respectively in the 2020 budget estimates presented to the National Assembly.
These are some of the details of N10.33tn budget for the 2020 which is N1.4tn higher than the N8.9tn approved by the National Assembly for the 2019 fiscal year. Read more
FG’s Cash Transfer: 33, 348 households benefit in Kogi- Official (Daily Trust)
Mrs Falilat Abdulrazaq, the Head of Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) Unit in Kogi, said on Wednesday that no fewer than 33, 348 indigent households had benefited from the Federal Government’s CCT under its Household Uplifting Programme (HUP).
Abdulrazaq disclosed this at a three-day ”Savings and Group Mobilisation (SGM) Step-down Training”, organised for 76 newly-selected Cash Transfer Facilitators (CTFs). They were selected from seven out of the 21 local government areas of Kogi. Read more
Police confirm RCCG pastor abducted in Lafia (Guardian)
The Nasarawa State Police Command has confirmed the abduction of a cleric, Mr John Egla, said to be a pastor of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) in Lafia.
The spokesman of the command, Mr Nansel Ramhan, confirmed the development in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Lafia.
The incident is the latest in the wave of abductions in Nigeria in recent times, despite the efforts of the Federal Government to tackle the problem. Ramhan said the police found six empty shells of AK 47 ammunition at the scene of the abduction and that the police had deployed a team to rescue Egla.
A Senior Pastor with the RCCG, Mr Falaye Omoniyi, who corroborated the incident, said that Egla was the pastor in charge of the Oasis of Life Parish of the church’s Nasarawa Province 2. Read more
Nigeria Senate revisits sexual harassment prohibition bill (Guardian)
Three years after the passage of the sexual harassment prohibition bill, Nigerian Senate Wednesday revisited the bill for legislative action.
Clerk of the Nigerian Senate Nelson Ayewoh re-read the bill sponsored by the deputy Senate president Ovie Omo-Agege during Wednesday’s plenary.
The Bukola Saraki-led 8th Nigerian Senate passed the bill in May 2016 to sentence lecturers caught sexually harassing students to a five-year jail term. Read more
UTME: NIMC advises candidates on NIN enrollment for easy access (Vanguard)
According to Onyepunuka, NIN is mandatory for the UTME examination, hence obtaining the NIN qualifies candidates for its registration.
In June, the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) stated that starting from the year 2020, UTME/Direct Entry candidates will register for its examinations with their NIN to solve the challenges of multiple registrations.
The National Identity Management Commission and partners are to harmonise data of candidates for the UTME to reduce the cost of registration and check underage registration. Read more
Turkey launches offensive in northern Syria with air strikes (BBC)
Turkish warplanes have bombed parts of north-eastern Syria at the start of an offensive which could lead to conflict with Kurdish-led allies of the US.
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the operation was to create a “safe zone” cleared of Kurdish militias which will also house Syrian refugees.
The strikes have killed at least two civilians, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said.
The group vowed to resist any Turkish advance across the border. Read more
Brexit deal nears collapse — is it strategic? (NYTimes)
Britain is giving up its efforts to strike a deal with the uncompromising European Union and will not return to the table.
The breakdown in talks came after Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany had a phone conversation in which, according to one British official, Ms. Merkel dashed hopes of a deal. But the details of the call, which Britain called “frank” and Germany called “friendly,” are murky.
The E.U. called Mr. Johnson’s approach a “stupid blame game” and warned him against the histrionics. Read more
Tyler Perry plans shelter for ‘Trafficked Girls, Boys and Battered Women’ (People)
Tyler Perry‘s next big project hopes to bring help to people who need it most.
The pioneering filmmaker, writer and actor just opened a brand new movie studio in Atlanta, making him the first African-American to own a major studio outright. But achieving such a huge career milestone doesn’t mean he’s done trying to strive for the better.
“You know what, right now I’m dreaming about how do I build this shelter for trafficked girls, boys and battered women,” Perry, 50, told Essence at the grand opening of his studio on Saturday. Read more
Angelina Jolie and her brood board private jet ahead of ‘Maleficent’’s London premiere (Metro) Angelina Jolie has been joined by her brood while flying off around the world to promote her latest movie, Maleficent 2.
And now the family has been spotted heading into a private jet as they make their way to the UK for the London premiere. Dressed head-to-toe in black, the mother-of-six looked in high spirits as she boarded the plane with her bambinos. Read more
Rain halts activities at Lagos Open (ThisDay)
The incessant rainfall yesterday forced the organisers of the yearly Lagos Open Tournament to cancel all the Main Draw matches lined up at the Lagos Lawn Tennis Club.
International Tennis Federation (ITF) Supervisor, Iain Smith, noted that the rainfall caused the unprecedented change of plan.
As at the time of compiling this report, Nigeria’s Sylvester Emmanuel was almost done with his second qualifying match against Emmanuel Jebutu which he was leading 6-3, 1-0. Read more
Zlatan Ibrahimovic statue unveiled in Sweden (BBC)
A statue of former Manchester United striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic has been built in his hometown in Sweden.
The bronze structure, commissioned by the Swedish FA, was unveiled in front of hundreds of fans outside Malmo’s stadium on Tuesday.
“No matter where you come from, where you are, no matter what you look like, the statue is the symbol that anything is possible,” said Ibrahimovic. Read more
Stefano Pioli appointed as AC Milan coach (punch)
Former Inter Milan coach Stefano Pioli has been appointed coach of city rivals AC Milan, the Italian club confirmed on Wednesday.
Pioli, who most recently coached Fiorentina, takes over after Marco Giampaolo was sacked Tuesday after four defeats in the first seven league games this season including a 2-0 derby loss to Inter.
The former 18-time Italian champions, who won their last Serie A title in 2011, are in 13th position just three points above the relegation zone. Read more
Lille chief Luis Campos explains why Nicolas Pepe will be a success at Arsenal (Metro)
Lille sporting director Luis Campos has no doubt Nicolas Pepe will succeed at Arsenal and has revealed the lengths the winger goes to in order to perfect his game. Pepe became Arsenal’s club-record signing this summer when he completed a £72million move to the Emirates from Lille, though he has only scored once – from the penalty spot – for his new club. Although the Ivorian has not quite lived up to his price tag so far, Campos says his hard work and willingness to improve are reminiscent of Cristiano Ronaldo and has backed him to come good. Read more
Brazil, England, Others Confirm Participation in 2019 Copa Lagos (ThisDay)
Defending world champions Brazil will be making their second appearance at the Copa Lagos scheduled to hold between November 1 and 3 at the Eko Atlantic in Lagos.
The Brazilians will be in town to contend with five-time African champions Senegal, host Nigeria and England at the tournament expected to put the three teams going to the Beach Soccer World Cup in Paraguay barely one month later in championship mode. Read more
FIFA will ‘stand firm’ on women’s access to Iran matches (BBC)
Fifa will “stand firm” in ensuring women have access to all football matches in Iran despite claims the world governing body could have prevented the death of an activist.
Women have effectively been banned from stadiums when men are playing since just after the 1979 Islamic revolution.
But Fifa said it has been “assured” by Iranian authorities that women will be able to attend matches. Read more