Rowdy session as Senate defers Keyamo’s screening (DailyTrust)
The ongoing screening of the last ministerial nominee at the Senate has turned rowdy.
The nominee who is the former Minister of State for Labour, Festus Keyamo, was taking his questions when the session became rowdy.
A Senator had raised a point of order over Keyamo’s nomination, recalling how he shunned an invitation from the House of Representatives when he was a Minister. Read more
Doctors Death: Lagos sacks, blacklist Odan general hospital (Guardian)
The Lagos State government on Sunday sacked and blacklisted the facility managers at the General Hospital in Odan, where a medical doctor died from an elevator accident.
In a statement by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Information and Strategy, Olumide Sogunle, on the report of the panel of inquiry set up on the incident, the state government also said that the General Manager of the Lagos State Infrastructure and Asset Management Agency is to immediately proceed on suspension.
The state government added that the operations and line of reporting of the facility managers have been restructured to involve the hospital management directly. Read more
Ministry offers Ibeju-Lekki residents free legal counsel (Punch)
The Lagos State Government has extended its joint free legal clinic to residents of Ibeju-Lekki Local Government Area of the state.
The Solicitor-General and Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Ministry of Justice, Mrs Titilayo Shitta-Bey-Jeje, who spoke at the opening ceremony of the legal clinic at the weekend, said the gesture was to strengthen the administration of justice in the state by promoting the rights of citizens and ensuring that residents have unfettered access to justice.
Represented by the Director of Citizens Mediation Centre, Mrs Biola Oseni, the perm. sec. noted that the directorates and agencies in the Ministry of Justice offer free services in one or more areas which include family disputes, landlord/tenant issues, domestic violence against women and children, among others. Read more
Abiodun condoles with Senator Adeola over aide’s death (ThisDay)
Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, has condoled the Senator representing Ogun West senatorial district, Solomon Olamilekan Adeola, over the killing of his aide, Adeniyi Sanni, last Saturday in Lagos.
He also called for an immediate and discreet investigation to unravel the assailants as well as bring them to book.
The governor in a statement issued by his media office in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, also sympathised with the family of the deceased, describing the killing as cruel and barbaric, adding that such a heinous act can never go unpunished. Read more
4 killed as mining site collapses in Bauchi (Leadership)
At least four persons have died after a mining site collapsed on them in Yadagungume, a community in Ningi local government area of Bauchi State.
Leadership gathered that the illegal miners lost their lives over the weekend after the site caved in on them.
An eye witness who pleaded for anonymity said the illegal miners have been working on the site for the past for over a month. Read more
JTF orders immediate release of vessel accused of carrying stolen crude (Vanguard)
The Joint Task Force, Operation Delta Safe, OPDS, has ordered the immediate release of MT Praisel Vessel to continue its operations in line with extant approvals, after it was arrested for allegedly carrying stolen crude.
The Commander of Joint Task Force, Operation Delta Safe,OPDS, Rear Admiral Olusegun Ferreira, disclosed this on Sunday, during a press briefing, saying the vessel met the standard to operate.
He said MT Praisel was granted approval by the Nigerian Mid-Stream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) to load 1,114,721L of High Pour Fuel Oil (HPFO) from Greenmac Energy Storage at Tarus Jetty Koko from 26 July -8 Aug. 2023. Read more
FAAN arrests 21 touts, others at Lagos Airport (Guardian)
The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) says it has arrested 21 persons including touts, illegal foreign exchange dealers, hawkers and scavengers at the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos.
Mr Abdullahi Yakubu-Funtua, Director, Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, FAAN, made this known in a statement on Sunday in Lagos.
He said that the suspects had been handed over to the Police for further action. Read more
Niger Coup: Don’t take military action against junta, JNI warns ECOWAS (Punch)
The Jama’atu Nasril Islam, on Saturday, warned Nigeria and the authorities of the Economic Community of West African States not to take military action against the junta in the Niger Republic.
The caution is contained in a statement issued in Kaduna by JNI Secretary General, Prof Khalid Aliyu.
Aliyu said that the JNI, representing the collective voice of the Muslim community, expressed its deep concern over the seizure of power through a coup from the democratically elected Niger Republic, President Mohamed Bozoum. Read more
Grimes shares statement supporting Lizzo amid sexual harassment lawsuit (NME)
Grimes has shared a statement supporting Lizzo after the singer was accused of sexual harassment by former backup dancers.
This week, it was revealed that the singer is being sued by three of her former dancers, who cite accusations of sexual harassment and a hostile work environment.
Lizzo then responded and said she was “hurt” by the “sensationalised” accusations, and has hired Marty Singer, the lawyer who has worked on recent cases against Jonah Hill, Johnny Depp, Bill Cosby and more. Read more
Ed Sheeran pauses concert to announce sex of concert goers’ baby (People)
Ed Sheeran is helping a family in the most “Perfect” way!
The music superstar, 32, paused his show in Kansas City on Saturday to honor a couple’s wishes that he reveal the sex of their soon-to-be baby. The singer-songwriter then posted a clip of the on-stage moment to Instagram on Saturday — showing the pair’s reaction in the crowd as it all went down.
“My first gender reveal,” Sheeran captioned his post of the sweet reveal. Read more
Adele begins each of her Las Vegas residency shows with a unique Celine Dion ritual (Mirror)
Adele has a special good luck charm in the form of Celine Dion. The 35-year-old has a ritual of kissing a poster of the All By Myself singer, who is an idol of the Tottenham-born star.
The source told The Mirror: “Adele does have a kiss with Celine. It has become a little superstition before a show. She walks from the dressing room underneath the stage up some steps where a giant framed picture of Celine is – and she plants a little smooch on it for luck.”
Everyone behind-the-scenes thinks that her pre-show kiss is cool as well. After all, Dion was one of the key reasons that Adele agreed to perform in Las Vegas. Read more
Ukraine war: Russia hits blood transfusion centre, says Zelensky (BBC)
A Russian “guided bomb” has hit a blood transfusion centre in north-eastern Ukraine, killing two people and injuring four, Ukrainian officials say.
Volodymyr Zelensky posted an image of the building on fire as a result of Saturday night’s attack around Kupiansk, in the Kharkiv region.
“This war crime alone says everything about Russian aggression,” he said.
Russia has not commented. It has previously denied all allegations of targeting civilians – or war crimes. Read more
Incredible Hulk director reveals plans for scrapped sequel (THR)
Louis Leterrier has revealed plans for the scrapped sequel to his 2008 film The Incredible Hulk, which starred Edward Norton in the title role.
In an interview with ComicBook.com, Leterrier shared that he had “a whole sequel” planned for the Marvel character that would have introduced other versions of the Hulk.
“There was like Grey Hulk, Red Hulks — there was a lot of good stuff that we were planning,” he told the website.
In subsequent films, Mark Ruffalo took on the role of Bruce Banner/Hulk starting with 2012’s The Avengers, and the story line from the 2008 movie was not a part of the character’s arc. (Eric Bana also played the character in a 2003 film directed by Ang Lee, while Lou Ferrigno portrayed the Hulk and Bill Bixby was Bruce Banner in the CBS series, which aired from 1977-82, and in several TV movies.) Read more
China accused of using water cannon on Philippine boat in South China Sea (AlJazeera)
The Philippines has accused China’s coastguard of using a water cannon to block a Philippine military supply boat in the South China Sea, condemning the actions as illegal, “excessive” and “dangerous”.
The confrontation on Saturday was the latest flare-up in the long-running territorial conflicts involving China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei.
China asserts sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea, one of the world’s busiest sea lanes, but a United Nations-backed tribunal concluded in 2016 that its expansive claim was groundless. Read more
Niger Coup: Junta shuts airspace citing military intervention threat (BBC)
Niger’s coup leaders have closed the country’s airspace until further notice, citing the threat of military intervention.
Flight tracking website Flightradar24 is showing that there are currently no aircraft in Niger’s skies.
The West African group of countries, Ecowas, had earlier warned it could use force if President Mohamed Bazoum was not reinstated by 23:00 GMT on Sunday. Read more
Nigeria’s D’Tigress win 4th consecutive Afrobasket title (Channels)
Nigeria have won the 2023 FIBA Women’s Afrobasket championship, making it a record fourth title on the bounce.
The D’Tigress defeated Senegal 84-74 in Kigali, Rwanda to etch their names in Nigerian basketball folklore.
Nigeria are now the second side, after Senegal (1974 to 1981), to have won the championship four times in a row. They now have six titles.
The team clinched the crown in 2017, 2019, and 2021 before the most recent feat at the BK Arena. Read more
NPFL Board adopts full format for 2023/24 season (Leadership)
The 2023/24 Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) season will be played in a full format.
The agreement was reached during a meeting between the NPFL board and club owners in Abuja on Thursday night.
Recall that an abridged format was adopted for the 2022/23 season.
The new campaign is expected to kick-off on Saturday, August 26. Read more
Kylian Mbappé barred from training with PSG’s main 1st-team group (Guardian)
Kylian Mbappé will be barred from training with Paris Saint-Germain’s main first-team group as his contract dispute with the club continues.
PSG return to their training base on Monday after their tour of Japan and South Korea, but Mbappé will be part of the so-called ‘loft’ training group rather than the first team.
PSG sources remain convinced the forward, out of contract next summer, has agreed a free transfer deal with Real Madrid. Mbappé’s management are understood to have refused to engage with an offer from the club to sign a new contract containing a guaranteed sale clause, which would allow him to join another club for a fee next summer. Read more
Pep Guardiola gives perfect response after Man City’s Community Shield defeat (Mirror)
Pep Guardiola gave a measured take of his Manchester City side after they were beaten on penalties by Arsenal in the Community Shield.
Arsenal won 4-1 on penalties at Wembley after Leandro Trossard scored an equaliser in the 101st minute. Cole Palmer curled in the opener in the 77th minute and appeared to have City on course for a ninth successive win over Arsenal, only for the Gunners to make a comeback.
Trossard’s shot took a huge deflection off Manuel Akanji to send the match to penalties, where Arsenal prevailed. Kevin De Bruyne hit the crossbar and Rodri’s effort was saved by Aaron Ramsdale, while Martin Odegaard, Trossard, Bukayo Saka and Fabio Vieira all beat Stefan Ortega from the spot to win it. Read more
Coco Gauff secures Citi Open title, eyes redemption at US Open after Wimbledon setback (Express)
In the Mubadala Citi DC Open women’s final on Sunday, Coco Gauff secured her first WTA 500 title by defeating Maria Sakkari 6-2, 6-3 in Washington, D.C. The win marked her first tournament victory on U.S. soil as the US Open approaches.
Just over a month ago, Gauff experienced a disheartening first-round loss at Wimbledon, leaving her uncertain about the next step in her career. However, with her Citi Open victory, she has regained confidence and is now setting her sights on a successful campaign at the upcoming US Open, aiming for a deep run in the tournament.
“I’d like to thank my father God after this [victory],” Gauff told reporters. “After losing the first round of Wimbledon, it was a tough situation.” Read more
Lucas Glover wins Wyndham Championship, earns spot in FedEx Cup playoffs (ESPN)
Lucas Glover looked to the sky and held back tears after winning the Wyndham Championship on Sunday, sending him to the PGA Tour postseason with more opportunities ahead of him.
Justin Thomas fell to the ground, stunned that his birdie chip hit the base of the pin and stayed out, leaving him out of the FedEx Cup playoffs by about the same small margin that kept his ball out of the cup.
Such were the range of emotions at Sedgefield, the final tournament before the lucrative postseason for the top 70 players. Read more