Sallah: Gov Obaseki to pay salaries June 14 (Tribune)
In fulfillment of his earlier promises to Edo State workers regarding prompt payment of salaries, the Governor of the state, Godwin Obaseki, on Wednesday said he will be paying this month’s workers salaries on June 14, ahead of the Sallah celebration.
The governor said this during the commissioning of the State Secretariat Complex in Benin, the State capital.
According to him, “I have heard all the accolades about the minimum wage. I assure the workers that it is not a fluke. We are a very deliberate government that sits back to do our work. Read more
Lagos bizman loses N21m valuables to robbers (Punch)
A businessman, Mohammed Abdullahi, has accused policemen of the Zone 2 Command and Lagos State Police Command of mishandling a case of robbery that made him lose his car, money and valuables worth N21m when armed criminals robbed him and his neighbours at their residence in the Awoyaya community, in the Ibeju Lekki area of the state.
PUNCH Metro gathered that Abdullahi, a realtor, in several posts on X.com sometime in May and June 2024, lamented over the loss of his valuables and how the police did nothing meaningful to track down the suspects behind the robbery despite providing overwhelming evidence to them.
In one of the posts, Abdullahi said, “Please Nigerians, help me share this video. These are the guys that robbed me and the police are not ready to do anything about my case.” Read more
5 storey mission school building collapses in Onitsha (ThisDay)
A five storey building under construction in Onitsha, which belongs to Dennis Memorial Grammar School, collapsed on yesterday’s morning.
A source said that the building collapsed around 4 a.m. with a heavy thud that shook the entire area. “I think the incident happened at around 4 a.m. this morning. The entire building came down in rubbles, and the impact of the collapse shook the entire area.
“I don’t think there were casualties in the building because work was not ongoing as it was too early for workers to have arrived. The school is a boarding school, so if not for the public holiday, students may have been caught in the incident. Read more
June 12: Gov Abiodun commutes death sentences of 45 inmates to jail terms, pardons 41 others (Independent)
Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, has commuted the death sentences of 45 condemned prisoners to prison terms.
Abiodun also granted pardon to 41 other inmates serving in different Correctional Centres across the state.
Speaking at the 2024 Democracy Day, held at the June 12 Cultural Centre, Kuto, Abeokuta, Prince Abiodun said the decision was in exercising his prerogative of mercy as the governor of the state. Read more
LG autonomy: Supreme Court reserves judgement on FG’s suit against 36 govs (Vanguard)
The Supreme Court has reserved its judgement on the suit the Federal Government filed to secure full autonomy for the 774 local governments, LGs, in the country.
A seven-man panel of the court, led by Justice Garba Lawal, on Thursday, okayed the matter for judgement. This was after governors of the 36 states of the Federation, through their respective attorney-generals, adopted their briefs of argument.
The states, in separate preliminary objections they filed before the apex court, sought the dismissal of the suit with substantial cost. Read more
Petrol Smuggling: Customs’ Operation Whirlwind seizes 26,950 litres of petrol in 2 weeks (Sun)
Operatives of Operation Whirlwind, a special task force of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) Zone A, have intercepted and seized 26,950 litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), also known as petrol, concealed for illegal smuggling out of the country through Ogun State.
The National Coordinator of Operation Whirlwind, Comptroller Hussein Kehinde Ejibunu, disclosed this information during a press briefing at the Ogun Area II Command of the NCS, Quarry Road, Abeokuta, on Thursday. He stated that the seizure was made within two weeks of the operation’s inauguration by the Comptroller-General of the NCS, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi. Read more
HoCSF denies suspension of Perm Sec over alleged sexual harassment (Leadership)
The Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation (OHoCSF) has denied media reports that the Head of Service of the Federation, Dr. Folashade Yemi-Esan, has suspended the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Ibrahim Lamuwa, over sexual harassment allegation by a female ministerial aide.
Some media platforms reported that following the setting up of a committee by the Head of the Service to look into the matter, Yemi-Esan ordered the immediate suspension of the permanent secretary.
According to the report, the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation said the permanent secretary would be on suspension pending the outcome of an immediate probe into the allegations against him. Read more
Kwara loses 2 more Pilgrims in Saudi Arabia (DailyTrust)
Two additional pilgrims from Kwara State, Salman Muhammad Alade, and Ayishat Shuaib Ologele, have lost their lives in Makkah, Saudi Arabia.
The development brings to four, pilgrims from the state who lost their lives during this year’s Hajj.
It was gathered that Ayishat Shuaib Ologele, fell ill while travelling from Medina to Mecca, and died in the process, despite efforts from authorities. Read more
Ruth Jones reveals Gwyneth Paltrow had her lines cut from movie debut Emma (Standard)
Ruth Jones has revealed she didn’t have a good experience working with Gwyneth Paltrow on the movie Emma.
Jones made her screen debut in the 1996 adaptation of the Jane Austen book, which starred Paltrow as the titular character.
The film, which was written and directed by Douglas McGrath, saw the Gavin and Stacey creator and star play a smaller role of a maid working for the Bates family. Read more
Playboi Carti put on blast by rock singer over merch dispute: ‘[He] sucks’ (HipHopDx)
Playboi Carti has been called out by Falling in Reverse lead singer Ronnie Radke over their dispute regarding the rapper allegedly stealing merchandise designs.
Though the issue was legally settled in 2022, Radke evidently still harbors ill will towards Carti, as he explained on social media.
Writing on X (formerly Twitter), Radke explained the issues between the rock band and Atlanta rapper: “Put my band name on a shirt, I asked him nicely to take down he can keep the money just take it down, he replied ‘my bad I got you.’ Read more
Poorly paid doctors and nurses flee Africa for Canada (AfricaNews)
After training as a nurse, Nevielle Leinyuy spent almost a decade in Cameroon working as a front desk receptionist because he was unable to find a decent-paying job in the medical field. Last year, he gave up looking. He applied for a nursing program in Canada, where he now lives with his wife and children.
“They are stealing us from Cameroon,” the 39-year-old Leinyuy said. “We want to work in Cameroon but there is no pay, so we have to look for other options.”
Cameroon has one of the world’s lowest ratios of health workers per capita. About a third of trained doctors who graduated from medical school last year left the country, the minister of higher education, Jacques Fame Ndongo, has said. Read more
Pixar CCO shoots down hopes of Josh O’Connor in live-action “Ratatouille” (People)
Pixar’s Pete Docter is getting frank about live-action remakes of animated movies.
Addressing the possibility of a live-action version of 2007’s Ratatouille, the company’s chief creative officer, 55, told Time such reimaginings “bother” him.
“This might bite me in the butt for saying it, but it sort of bothers me,” said Docter when asked about an internet fan campaign to get British actor Josh O’Connor, a noted Ratatouille fan, cast as its main human character Alfredo Linguini. Read more
Marvel’s Blade film suffers another setback (FilmNews)
Mahershala Ali’s “Blade” film has suffered another setback with the departure of its director Yann Demange.
The Lovecraft Country director left the movie amicably a while ago, leaving Marvel bosses in search of a new filmmaker to helm their long-gestating project, according to The Wrap.
This marks the second time a director has left Blade, as Demange was drafted in to replace Mogul Mowgli’s Bassam Tariq after his exit. Read more
Trampolene’s Jack Jones announces debut solo album with new single, ‘Breathe’ (NME)
Trampolene frontman Jack Jones has announced details of his self-titled debut solo album, as well as sharing new single ‘‘Breathe’’.
As well as fronting Trampolene and working as a spoken word poet, Jones is also a member of Pete Doherty’s band The Puta Madres. Now, he’s set to make his solo debut.
According to a press release, the album will see Jones “put away his guitar” to embrace a new contemporary sound while delivering his usual “hard-hitting state of the nation poems of existential fear and loathing”. Read more
‘State of shock’: Kuwait fire leaves many families bereft in India’s Kerala (AlJazeera)
From a father-of-two who planned to leave his job to a 29-year-old due to visit his family in August, two dozen Indians from the southern state of Kerala died in a fire that ripped through a labour-housing facility in Kuwait, leaving their families bereft.
India’s Ministry of External Affairs on Thursday said 40 Indians died in the blaze at a building housing workers in Kuwait’s Mangaf city, which also killed at least nine others, including three Philippine nationals.
Kuwait’s Foreign Minister Abdullah al-Yahya told reporters on Thursday that one person succumbed to injuries, taking the number of deaths to at least 50. Read more
NPFL: Respite for Dogo as Kwara Utd beat Pillars in Ilorin (Vanguard)
Coach Kabiru Dogo of Kwara United Football Club of Ilorin has described the 2-0 win over Kano Pillars on Wednesday as a big relief to the team.
The former Nasarawa United gaffer told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) after the game in Ilorin that the team would give its utmost in the remaining match against Lobi Stars and the last match of the season against Heartland FC.
NAN reports that the Matchday 36 encounter of the 2023–2024 Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) was played at the Main Bowl of the Kwara State Stadium Complex, Ilorin. Read more
AC Milan name ex-Lille boss Fonseca as new manager (BBC)
Italian club AC Milan have appointed Paulo Fonseca as their new manager.
The 51-year-old Portuguese, who managed French club Lille from 2022-2024, has signed a three-year deal until 2027.
He replaces Stefano Pioli, who left AC Milan by mutual consent after they finished fourth in Serie A.
Fonseca left Lille by mutual consent after his side finished fourth in Ligue 1 and missed out on a direct Champions League spot. Read more
Edin Terzic resigns as Borussia Dortmund coach, citing ‘‘new era’’ (IrishExaminer)
Edin Terzic has resigned as the coach of the Champions League runners-up Borussia Dortmund. Terzic said he wanted Dortmund to start a “new era” with a new coach but there was no immediate word on a successor amid reports in the German media that his assistant Nuri Sahin could take over.
Terzic’s last game was the 2-0 defeat by Real Madrid in the Champions League final at Wembley on 1 June.
“After the game at Wembley, I asked for a meeting with the club’s senior management team, because after 10 years at BVB – including five on the coaching staff and two and a half as head coach – I feel that the club’s new era should begin with a new man on the touchline,” Terzic said in a club statement. Read more
USGA will consider path for LIV Golf players into US Open (StraitsTimes)
The United States Golf Association (USGA) will examine creating a path for LIV Golf players into the US Open in the next off-season, USGA chief Mike Whan said on June 12.
Saudi-backed LIV Golf, the upstart series that debuted in 2022 just ahead of that year’s US Open, has just 12 players in the field of 156 for this week’s US Open at Pinehurst Resort.
It would have been 13 but eighth-ranked Jon Rahm, a two-time Major winner, withdrew due to a left foot injury. Read more
Jos Verstappen to follow in son Max’s footsteps with rare Red Bull F1 drive (RN365)
Jos Verstappen will be given the rare opportunity to follow in son Max’s footsteps and understand what it is like to drive a Red Bull.
Verstappen will figure in the ‘Legends Parade’ over the Austrian Grand Prix weekend later this month.
Unfortunately for Verstappen, he will not be behind the wheel of a car previously driven by his three-time F1 champion son. Read more
Australia’s Titmus sets 200m freestyle world record (BBC)
Olympic champion Ariarne Titmus broke the 200m freestyle world record at Australia’s Olympic swimming selection trials in Brisbane.
The 23-year-old, who won two golds at the 2020 Tokyo Games, beat Mollie O’Callaghan’s 2023 record with a time of one minute 52.23 seconds.
O’Callaghan finished narrowly behind Titmus in Brisbane, but she also recorded a personal best with a time of 1min 52.48secs. Read more