Security operatives deny journalists access to cover induction of new govs (Punch)
Journalists were on Tuesday denied access to cover the induction programme for returning and newly-elected state governors. Save for the Nigerian Television Authority crew, security operatives barred representatives of other media houses from accessing the venue, the Old Banquet Hall, within the Presidential Villa, Abuja. Reporters duly accredited to cover the Nigeria Governors Forum as their beat were also denied access to the venue on Tuesday. The two-day event had started on Monday with Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo representing President Muhammadu Buhari. Read more
FG secures release of Zainab Aliyu (Guardian)
Zainab Aliyu has been released by the Saudi Arabia authorities after the Nigerian government established her innocence. The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Sulaiman Mustapha, disclosed at a news conference in Abuja on Tuesday that Aliyu, who was detained in Saudi Arabia was released to the Nigerian mission in Saudi. He said the government has been able to establish the innocence of Aliyu and the second Nigerian, Ibrahim Abubakar involved in the case. Read more
Presidential panel says it recovered N40m from anonymous bank (Punch)
The Special Presidential Investigation Panel for the recovery of Public Property says it has recovered over N40m for the Federal Government from one of the commercial banks in the country. This was made known in a statement signed by the panel’s Head, Media and Communication, Lucie-Ann Laha, on Tuesday in Abuja. The panel said it refrained from mentioning the name of the bank in question in order to prevent panic by its customers. Read more
FG laments spending 70% revenue on recurrent expenditure (Nation)
The federal government has raised the alarm that about 70% of the monthly revenue inflow into the Consoludated Revenue Fund (CRF) is being spent on recurrent expenditure. This alarm was raised by the Minister of Finance Mrs Zainab Ahmed at a retreat on the roles of Ministries Departments and Agencies (MDAs) in the implementation of IPPIS and its effect on wotkers’ condition of service and government revenue in Abuja on Tuesday. Ahmed, who was represented by Dr Armstrong Ume Takang an official from the ministry, said this trend of spending about 70% of the revenue that flows into the CRF to “will not free the much-needed resources for improving our standard of living.” Read more
Oyo: Tribunal orders INEC to allow Makinde inspect election materials (Punch)
The Governorship Election Petition Tribunal in Oyo State on Tuesday ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission to allow the Governor-elect, Seyi Makinde, to inspect the materials used in March 9 governorship election in the state. INEC declared, Makinde, candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, winner of the March 9 governorship election in Oyo State after polling 515,621 votes. NAN reports that Makinde defeated his closest rival, Adebayo Adelabu of the All Progressives Congress who had 357,982 votes. Read more
Dickson writes INEC, demands change of date (Nation)
The November 2nd date fixed by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct the governorship election in Bayelsa State has raised some dust in the state, it was learnt on Tuesday. It was gathered that government stakeholders were not comfortable with the date, which is statutorily set aside as a public holiday in the state. A source from the Government House said that government officials were shocked that INEC chose a day that had been dedicated since 2012 as a Thanksgiving Day in Bayelsa for an election. Read more
Prostitution is sin under the two religions practised in FCT —Abayomi Shogunle (Punch)
The Head of Public Complaints Rapid Response Unit, Abayomi Shogunle, has said that prostitution is a sin under the two main religions practised by residents of the Federal Capital Territory. He slammed those who condemned the clampdown on prostitutes in Abuja, warning that prostitution is a criminal act in Nigeria. He also drew attention to medical warning that prostitution is responsible for the spread of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases, adding that prostitution provides lifeline for violent criminals. Read more
Boko Haram invades Adamawa village, kills 26 (Nation)
Twenty-six people have been feared killed and several others critically injured following a Boko Haram attack on a village in Madagali Local Government Area of Adamawa State. Our correspondent gathered on Tuesday that the insurgents, riding motorcycles, stormed the Kudakaya village in large numbers around 7pm on Monday. A local vigilante member said, “Many victims fell to the attack. I saw corpses of 26 people and there are several others that were critically injured and taken to hospital.” Read more
Gunmen kidnap Taraba varsity Deputy Registrar (Punch)
Unknown gunmen in the early hours of Tuesday kidnapped the Deputy Registrar Administration of the Taraba State University, Jalingo, Mr. Sanusi Sa’ad. Sa’ad who is also the Information and Protocol Officer of the University was picked in his house at the University quarters at 1am today. Chairman of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, Taraba State University chapter, Dr. Samuel Shikaa, confirmed the incident in a telephone interview with our correspondent in Jalingo. Read more
Nigeria does not have 20m housing deficit – Fashola (Nation)
Minister for Works, Housing and Power Babatunde Fashola (SAN), Tuesday dismissed insinuations that Nigeria has five million housing deficit. He conceded that Nigeria has housing challenges, but added that housing challenges are universal phenomenal. The minister told reporters in Ilorin, the Kwara state capital at the end of a capacity building workshop for Federal Controllers of lands and housing in the country. The theme of the training is “learning and development for greater stature.” Read more
Mozambique in ‘dire humanitarian need’ (BBC)
Mozambique requires urgent life-saving relief to deal with the destructive aftermath of Cyclone Kenneth, an aid organisation has said. Save the Children says the humanitarian situation is significant and life-threatening and more funds are needed. The UN gave Mozambique and Comoros Island $13m (£10m) for food, water and repair of infrastructure. The death toll in cyclone-hit northern Mozambique is 38, but is expected to rise, officials say. Meanwhile aid workers are scrambling to reach the areas that were worse hit by the cyclone. Read more
All U.S. troops in Middle East are terrorists, Iran says (Punch)
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Tuesday signed a bill into law declaring all U.S. forces in the Middle East terrorists and calling the U.S. government a sponsor of terrorism. The bill was passed by parliament recently in retaliation for President Donald Trump’s decision this month to designate Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards a foreign terrorist organisation. It was not clear what the impact of the new law might be on U.S. forces or their operations. Read more
Donald Trump wants asylum seekers to pay application fee (BBC)
US President Donald Trump wants asylum seekers to pay a fee to have their applications processed in the latest move in his crackdown on migration. The direction was given in a presidential memorandum on Monday, which called for a slew of new rules. The president also wants to disqualify asylum seekers who enter the United States illegally from obtaining temporary work permits. Critics say that fees would put the process out of reach for many people. In his memo, Mr Trump said the fee would not exceed the cost of processing the applications, but estimates have not yet been provided of what this may be. Read more
Trump sues banks amid finance inquiry (BBC)
US President Donald Trump has sued two banks in a bid to stop them handing over his financial records to Congress. The lawsuit against Deutsche Bank and Capital One was filed after Democrat-led committees issued subpoenas for information on his finances. His three eldest children and the Trump Organisation joined the lawsuit, which argues there are no legitimate grounds for investigating his business affairs. Leading Democrats said they would not be deterred by the blocking attempt. Read more
China sentences another Canadian to death for drug trafficking (Guardian)
A Chinese court sentenced a second Canadian man to death for drug trafficking on Tuesday amid diplomatic tensions between Ottawa and Beijing. The court in southern Guangdong province said the Canadian, Fan Wei, and 10 others — including an American and four Mexicans — had been part of an international narcotics syndicate working out of Taishan city between July and November 2012. The group produced and sold 6.34 kilos (14 pounds) of methamphetamine and 366 grammes of dimethylamylamine, a drug used for attention deficit-hyperactive disorder, weight loss and improving athletic performance, according to the Jiangmen Intermediate People’s Court. Read more
Venezuela’s Guaidó accused of coup attempt by government (BBC)
Venezuelan authorities say they are putting down a small coup attempt after opposition leader Juan Guaidó announced he was in the “final phase” of ending President Nicolás Maduro’s rule. He appeared in a video with uniformed men, saying he had military support. Mr Guaidó, who declared himself interim president in January, called for more members of the military to help him end Mr Maduro’s “usurpation” of power. The military has generally supported Mr Maduro in the stand-off with Mr Guaidó. Read more
Facebook accidentally leaks updates it planned to reveal at today’s F8 conference (Metro)
Facebook has slipped up and accidentally published details of the announcement it is going to reveal at the F8 conference later today. At 6 pm UK time, Mark Zuckerberg will take to the stage to reveal new features coming to Facebook’s products and services. But some of the new features being added to Messenger were leaked in a blog post which appears to have been mistakenly set live ahead of time. The page has now been deleted, but not before its contents were recorded. Read more
Italy emerges from recession in first quarter (Guardian)
Italy’s economy returned to growth in the first quarter after two quarters of contraction, giving the populist government a boost ahead of European elections. Gross domestic product expanded by 0.2 percent in the three months to March, having dropped by 0.1 percent in the final two quarters of 2018, the Istat statistics office reported on Tuesday. The return to slender growth was heralded by surprisingly positive industrial output figures in January and February after four months of contraction. Read more
Jon Snow owes everything to the powerful women of Game Of Thrones and here’s the proof (Metro)
A warning to those not up to speed with Game Of Thrones: major spoilers lie ahead. Ah, Jon Snow (played by Kit Harington). The Bastard Of Winterfell; The Snow Of Winterfell; The Prince That Was Promised and most recently Aegon Targaryen, the rightful heir to the Iron Throne. He is a man who has led armies to victory, killed a white walker, defeated death itself and sat atop a dragon. I could go on listing the names and victories of one of Game Of Thrones’ most revered heroes, but frankly, I can’t be bothered. Because Jon isn’t as great as everyone thinks he is. There, I said it. Read more
Daniel Radcliffe starring in Endgame – the London stage play not Avengers blockbuster (Metro)
Daniel Radcliffe is dropping the curtains and returning to the stage for a double-bill of theatre action. The Harry Potter star will be appearing at London’s Old Vic alongside Alan Cummings in Samuel Beckett’s Endgame – sorry, not related to the latest Avengers installment by Marvel. Now that would be interesting. Endgame will see Alan, 54, play Hamm, an ageing blind tyrant who is locked in a stalemate with his servant Clov. Daniel’s role in director Richard Jones’ macabre comedy, which is set to run with previews from 27 January 2020, is yet to be revealed. Read more
Man Utd’s Solskjaer must show authority by dropping De Gea —Wright (Punch)
Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer must show he is not afraid to make big decisions and drop error-prone goalkeeper David de Gea for the final two games of the Premier League season. The former England striker Ian Wright spoke against the backdrop of the poor performances of the Spain international in recent times. De Gea has made a number of uncharacteristic mistakes in recent games, including one that allowed Chelsea to equalise in Sunday’s 1-1 draw; that dented sixth-placed United’s chances of finishing in the top four. Read more
Stones says Man City experience key in Premier League race (Guardian)
John Stones says the experience in the Manchester City dressing room will be vital as they aim to finish ahead of Liverpool in the thrilling race for the Premier League title. City will retain the Premier League crown if they win their final two games against Leicester at home and Brighton away, but with Liverpool just a point behind there is no room for error. It is a totally different scenario from last season when City romped to the title with five games to spare and went on to finish a record 19 points clear of nearest challengers Manchester United. Read more
David Luiz explains why he loves Maurizio Sarri’s philosophy at Chelsea (Metro)
David Luiz says that he loves Maurizio Sarri’s ‘Sarriball’ philosophy at Chelsea as he believes it is the way that football is meant to be played. Much was made of Sarri’s tactical methods when he joined the club from Napoli last summer and initially, he enjoyed great success after implementing his style on the Chelsea squad as they went their first 18 games unbeaten. However, results since December have been mixed and sections of Chelsea’s support have voiced their frustration at the team’s style of play and Sarri’s tactics in recent months, chanting ‘f*** Sarriball’ during Chelsea’s FA Cup defeat to Manchester United in February. Read more
Dusan Tadic & Daley Blind: Premier League ‘rejects’ chase Ajax Champions League glory (BBC)
They were summer transfers that barely raised an eyebrow – but now look to be two of the signings of the season. Deemed surplus to requirements at their Premier League clubs, Ajax signed 30-year-old Dusan Tadic from Southampton for £10m and Daley Blind, 29, from Manchester United for an initial £14m. Fast forward nine months and it looks to be an astute piece of business by the Dutch club. Serbia forward Tadic has just scored his 34th goal and registered his 21st assist of the season, while Blind has formed a formidable defensive partnership with 19-year-old captain and Netherlands team-mate Matthijs de Ligt. Read more
Ivan Rakitic hits back at Jurgen Klopp over Nou Camp dig (Metro)
Ivan Rakitic has warned Jurgen Klopp that Barcelona’s Nou Camp stadium must be respected after the Liverpool boss attempted to downplay its significance. The Liverpool manager claimed Barcelona’s iconic 98,000 capacity home ‘is not a temple’ and denied his team would be intimidated during Wednesday’s Champions League semifinal first leg. ‘The Camp Nou is just a stadium. It is pretty big, but it is no temple of football,” the German fired to DAZN. Read more
Ex-Man Utd player O’Shea to retire at end of season (Punch)
Former Manchester United defender John O’Shea will retire at the end of the season, Championship club Reading announced on Tuesday. The Republic of Ireland international won five Premier League titles at Old Trafford, as well as the FA Cup and the Champions League. On Tuesday, his 38th birthday, O’Shea announced his retirement, having spent the final season of his playing career at Reading after a seven-year stint at Sunderland. Read more