Stampede as Nigerians tackle CBN deadline on cash swap (Guardian)
Nigerians, from all parts of the country, will enter this weekend agitated and confused over the currency redesign policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
While banks remain open to receive old notes till Tuesday, January 31, scarcity of new naira notes and rejection of the old notes, beginning from today, by retailers and many sales outlets, is driving the citizenry into panic mode as the deadline stares them in the face while still having large amounts of the old N1,000, N500 and N200 notes.
Few days before the deadline, the exercise had led to chaos, as well as over-stretching bank workers due to the breakdown of counting machines in many of the branches.
Findings by The Guardian showed that the breakdown of the counting machines due to heavy pressure has resulted in bank tellers now counting monies in bulk manually, making many customers wait long hours on the queue before being attended to. Read more
Banks short of new notes as ATMs dry up (DailyTrust)
Barely four days to the expiration of the deadline set by the Central Bank of Nigeria for old naira notes to fizzle out, banks across the country are running short of the new currency, Daily Trust can report.
The case is further worsened by the fact that commercial banks still give old notes to customers for Over- the- Counter Withdrawals (OTC) while very few Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) dispense the new naira notes.
A visit to some of the commercial banks in Abuja by Daily Trust showed that bank customers can only withdraw a maximum of N20,000 of the new notes while old notes are still being given to customers for withdrawals in the banking halls, against the directive of the CBN. Read more
Mega churches, schools bar old naira note payment, offering (Punch)
Ahead of the January 31 deadline set by the Central Bank of Nigeria for the phasing out of the old N1,000, N500 and N200 notes, some mega-churches, schools and retailers have set time limits for the collection of the old currencies.
This came as the lingering shortage of old naira notes forced several commercial banks to shut their Automated Teller Machines in Lagos, Abuja and other states across the country.
Deposit Money Banks have been battling a shortage of old bills amid a directive by the CBN that lenders should load only their ATMs with the news notes, forbidding over-the-counter payment of customers with the new currencies. Read more
Old Notes Deadline: We ‘re bound by CBN’s guidelines – Commercial Banks (Vanguard)
The commercial banks yesterday told the House of Representatives that they were bound by the guidelines of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, as their regulator in the implementation of the cashless policy.
The banks in a meeting with the adhoc committee of the House set up to interface with them on the withdrawal of old notes said that they are getting allocation of the new naira notes from the CBN and dispensing same to their customers through the Automatic Teller Machines (ATM).
According to them, the January 31 deadline of the CBN was still sacrosanct. Read more
Atiku remains my presidential candidate choice, says Paul play (Nation)
Nigerian singer and producer Paul Play Dairo has reacted to remarks over his choice of presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar.
Paul Play, who is the Entertainment Director of the Atiku Care Foundation, replied to social media users after being criticised and chastised for his choice.
He insisted that his choice of presidential candidate remains his and can’t be bullied into supporting another candidate. Read more
Elections: Reps ask FG to shutdown tertiary institutions (Tribune)
The House of Representatives on Thursday urged Federal Government to direct all Tertiary Institutions to suspend academic activities during the period of the 2023 general elections.
The resolution was passed sequel to the adoption of a motion titled: ‘Urgent need to give students of Tertiary Institutions of learning in Nigeria an opportunity to vote in the general elections’, sponsored by Hon. Kabir Tukura.
According to the sponsor of the motion, “Available statistics showed that there are over 2.1 million students currently studying in Nigerian Universities, while over 2.4 million are students in Polytechnics, Monotechnics and Colleges of Education across the country. Read more
No leader can create new Nigeria overnight – Obasanjo (Sun)
Former president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, has said no leader can create a new Nigeria overnight stressing that ascension to political offices does not empower incumbents to destroy the policies and programmes of their predecessors.
He spoke, yesterday, at the International Conference on ‘Deepening Democratic Culture and Institutions for Sustainable Development and Security in Nigeria’ in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital.
Obasanjo said it does not matter the party a predecessor belonged to, but that new leaders should sustain the policies and projects of their predecessors as long as the programmes are in the interest of the people.
The former president said democracy was not a one-day wonder, noting that there must be continuity and predictability of policies despite changes in leadership. Read more
Stakeholders trace avoidable financial losses in aviation sector to labour strikes (ThisDay)
Stakeholders in the aviation industry have stated that the greatest disincentive to investment in the aviation industry is the activity of labour unions adding that in the last five years the industry has lost about N20 billion to impromptu industrial actions that could have been avoided.
The industry is projected to have lost over N4 billion to the sudden disruption of flight operations to domestic, international and cargo airlines for 14 hours on Monday when the workers of the Nigeria Aviation Handling Company Plc (NAHCO) went on strike without due notification to the airlines.
THISDAY learnt that foreign investors who were discouraged to invest in the aviation industry, cited lack of control of the unions as one of the factors leading to avoidable strikes. It was disclosed that one of the reasons why Spar Supermarket moved out of the Domestic Terminal of the Murtala Muhammed Airport (MMA2) was constant disruption of its business due to incessant strikes, which affected those businesses that deal with perishables, including the eateries that record huge losses besides the loss of revenues. Read more
Michelle Pfeiffer “cried herself to sleep every night” on the set of Scarface (FarOut)
Michelle Pfeiffer landed her first leading role in Grease 2, the poorly-received sequel to the 1978 box-office hit. Although she had only starred in a few minor screen roles before that moment, director Patricia Birch cast her because she possessed “a quirky quality you don’t expect”. However, the film was disastrous, and the actor’s agent later stated that her role in Grease 2 was the reason why “she couldn’t get any jobs. Nobody wanted to hire her”.
Thus, when Brian De Palma began searching for an actor to play Elvira Hancock in Scarface, the drug-addicted trophy wife of Al Pacino’s Tony Montana, he refused to watch Pfeiffer audition. However, the producer, Martin Bregman, insisted on having Pfeiffer in for a trial, and she eventually won the role. Of course, her performance was well-received, and Pfeiffer no longer had to worry about the future of her career.
Off the back of Scarface, Pfeiffer landed roles in various projects throughout the decade, such as Into The Night, The Witches of Eastwick, Dangerous Liaisons, and The Fabulous Baker Boys. The following decade saw the actor gain even more high-profile roles, such as Catwoman in Batman Returns and The Age of Innocence. Given this rise, Pfeiffer established herself as one of the most successful and profitable stars of the 1980s and 1990s, earning three Academy Award nominations and receiving a Golden Globe and a BAFTA. Read more
Stormzy confirmed to perform at the Brit Awards (Metro)
Stormzy has been confirmed to perform at next month’s Brit Awards – and we’re confident he’ll absolutely Own It.
It was announced today that the rapper will join the star-studded line-up at the O2 in London on February 11.
Already on the bill are Harry Styles, Lizzo, Cat Burns, and DJ David Guetta and Becky Hill and Ella Henderson.
The forecast is looking positive for chart-topper Stormzy, who is in the running for three gongs at the ceremony, in association with MasterCard, hosted by Mo Gilligan. Read more
Radical Islamic cleric convicted of trying to recruit undercover NYPD officer, others to join ISIS (FOX)
Islamic Republic’s execution of second man draws international condemnationVideo
Islamic Republic’s execution of second man draws international condemnation
Fox News foreign correspondent Trey Yingst reports that a second person has been executed for protesting the Iranian government on ‘The Story.’
A radical Islamic cleric who tried to persuade an undercover NYPD officer to become an ISIS bride and recruited others for the terrorist organization was convicted of several terrorism counts on Thursday.
Shaikh Faisal, who was born as Trevor William Forrest in Jamaica, was previously convicted in the United Kingdom of soliciting murder and inciting racial hatred.
Described by prosecutors as “one of the world’s most influential English-speaking terrorists,” he has publicly supported the Islamic State since 2014. Read more
Bros actor Everett Quinton dies aged 71 (PunkNews)
Tributes have been paid to gay Bros actor and drag theatre legend, Everett Quinton, a “trailblazer, a genius, and an inspiration”, who has died aged 71.
The cause and date of Quinton’s death is currently unknown.
Quinton, who was in 2022 movie Bros – the first major studio rom-com with an all-LGBTQ+ cast – as Melvin Funk, lived a flamboyant life rooted in theatre as a mainstay of New York City’s Ridiculous Theatrical Company.
TheatrMania reported that Quinton was the lover of Ridiculous founder Charles Ludlam, who died in 1987, after which Quinton succeeded him as artistic director, a post he held for a decade.
The pair met in 1975, after which Quinton told David Kaufman, author of Ridiculous! The Theatrical Life and Times of Charles Ludlam: “I lost his phone number.” Read more
Women who visited every country in the world say two countries have the ‘friendliest’ people (Unilad)
After spending the last decade visiting every country on earth, two women have shared which countries have the friendliest people.
Australian Rachel Davey and Slovakian Martina Sebova had visited over 100 nations separately, before meeting in Europe in 2008.
As the pair grew close, they began to document their travels on a blog, Very Hungry Nomads. Read more
Biden accuses Republicans of exploiting debt-ceiling limit (Bloomberg)
President Joe Biden lashed out at Republicans and said they were looking to use the nation’s credit as leverage in economic negotiations.
Newly empowered House Republicans are aiming to capture the attention of voters with a flurry of proposals that would reshape the US economy. Biden, expected to run for re-election in 2024, is defending his legislative record.
“I will not let anyone use the full faith and credit of the United States as a bargaining chip,” Biden said at an event with union workers in Springfield, Virginia. “In the United States of America, we pay our debts.” Read more
Pilot miraculously saved nearly 420 lives by breaking the rules after an engine shut down (Unilad)
If there’s one person you don’t want to defy the rules while on the job, it’s a pilot. And yet, doing exactly that allowed one pilot to save nearly 420 lives on a flight to New York.
I’m not recommending this become a habit of pilots, I’m just saying it happened to pay off on this one occasion.
The dramatic events unfolded on board an Olympic Airways plane travelling from Ellinikon International Airport, the main airport in Athens, Greece, to New York’s JFK. Read more
Ighalo ready for Ronaldo challenge (Punch)
In a bid to retain the Golden Boot award he won last season, Nigerian striker Odion Ighalo faces a new competition from Al Nassr’s Cristiano Ronaldo but the Al Hilal forward said he was not disturbed by the challenge that the former Manchester United striker would pose in the competition for the Saudi Arabian Professional League top scorer.
Ighalo, who arrived in Saudi Arabia in 2021, emerged as the league’s top scorer last season with 24 goals.
The Nigerian striker switched from Al Shabab to Al Hilal in January 2022 and he has fast formed a reputation as one of the deadliest strikers in Saudi Arabia. Read more
Athletes ‘force’ AFN to shift Cross Country for Lagos City Marathon (Guardian)
Contrary to earlier reports, the maiden National 10km Cross-Country Championships scheduled for tomorrow in Jalingo, Taraba State, will not hold. The Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) stated, yesterday, that the race has been postponed in deference to athletes, who protested that the January 28 date is too close to the gold-label Lagos City Marathon, which holds on Saturday February 4, 2023.
The Guardian learnt yesterday that some officials of the AFN had already commenced their journey to Jalingo for the race when they got news of the postponement.
AFN Secretary General, Rita Moshindi, said in a letter dated January 25, 2023, that a new date will be fixed for the competition. Read more
UConn wins fourth consecutive game versus Tennessee (USAToday)
No. 4 UConn (18-2, 11-0 Big East) defeated Tennessee (16-7, 8-0 SEC), 84-67, Thursday at Thompson-Boling Arena.
The loss ends Tennessee’s nine-game win-streak.
UConn led, 33-17, in the first quarter. The Huskies led, 40-36, at halftime.
UConn outscored the Lady Vols, 28-19, in the third quarter.
Jordan Horston led all scorers with 27 points. She recorded seven rebounds and two assists for Tennessee. Horston did not play in Tennessee’s last game at Missouri Sunday due to illness. Read more
Nadal confirms 6 to 8 week injury absence (DailyTrust)
Rafa Nadal has confirmed he will miss the next six to eight weeks with the hip flexor injury he sustained at the Australian Open.
“Today I was at the Teknon Tennis Clinic in Barcelona where they tested me,” wrote Nadal Thursday on Twitter.
“They confirmed the results from Melbourne and the recovery stages are still the same.”Initial scans showed the 22-time Grand Slam champion had a moderate muscle tear which did not require surgery. Read more
Liverpool star’s ‘huge discontent’ with Klopp revealed as sensational transfer is ‘seriously considered’ (Football365)
Liverpool star Mo Salah is ‘no longer happy’ with Jurgen Klopp and it is being reported that Spanish giants Real Madrid are looking to ‘take advantage’.
When Salah does leave Liverpool, it is pretty likely that he will go down in history as one of their best players of all time.
The Egypt international had an unsuccessful spell at Chelsea earlier in his career but he returned to the Premier League with a point to prove when he joined Liverpool in 2017 from Roma. Read more
Report: Chelsea reluctant to let Hakim Ziyech join Newcastle (SI)
Newcastle United have expressed serious interest in Hakim Ziyech in recent weeks. That may not have been a problem in the past, but it’s become one due to the season they’re having.
The Magpies sit 3rd in the table, and are now a fully fledged rival for Chelsea in the race for top four. Selling them players would strengthen them, and therefore weaken Chelsea’s top four pursuit.
Ziyech is likely to leave Chelsea, but Newcastle could be off the cards.
According to the Evening Standard, Chelsea are reluctant to allow Hakim Ziyech to join Newcastle due to their position in the race for top four. Read more