Tinubu jacks up 2025 budget from N49.7t To N54.2t (DailyTrust)
President Bola Tinubu has sought the upward review of the proposed 2025 Appropriation Bill from N49.7 trillion to N54.2trillion.
The Presidentโs message was contained in a letter addressed to the President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio, which was read at the Plenary on Wednesday.
The President had presented a budget proposal of N49.7 trillion to a joint session of the National Assembly on December 18, 2024. Read more
Police arrest one-chance suspects in Rivers (Nation)
The police in Rivers state have arrested five suspects allegedly involved in a โOne-chanceโ operation in Port Harcourt, the state capital.
The Surveillance Patrol Team attached to the Hyper City Unit of the Rivers State Police Command, effected the arrest on January 28.
The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), SP Grace Iringe-Koko, who confirmed the development on Wednesday said the team was on a patrol along NLNG Road, Eastern Bypass, Port Harcourt, when it received a distress call from a victim, a female resident of Federal Housing Estate, Trans-Amadi, Port Harcourt. Read more
Nollywood actress, Pat Ugwu, dies at 35 (Vanguard)
Nollywood actress, Pat Ugwu, has passed away at the age of 35.
Her colleague, Emeka Okoye, announced the development in an Instagram post on Wednesday along with a funeral poster detailing her funeral arrangements.
โRest in peace sis. Pat Ugwu. @patpat_ugwu so we no get to work again? Death whyooo? God please. Rest in peace PAT. May your soul rest in the bosom of the Lord,โ Emeka wrote, expressing his grief. Read more
Fire kills 17 children, injures 16 others in Zamfara school (Channels)
Tragedy struck in the Kaura-Namoda Local Government Area of Zamfara State, as a fire outbreak at an Islamiya school claimed the lives of at least 17 Almajiri students.
Eyewitnesses say the fire started late on Tuesday night and raged for about three hours, leaving 17 students dead and 16 others injured.
A resident of the area, Abdulrasaq Bello Kaura, told Channels Television that the cause of the fire was reported to be some stored sticks locally called kara. Read more
Tech giant, IBM, exits Nigeria (Guardian)
American technology company, International Business Machines (IBM), has exited the Nigerian economic space.
The company announced that it is also leaving other African countries like Ghana, while it transfers its operations to a third-party company.
IBM is one of the latest international companies to exit the Nigerian economic space in recent times. In 2024, Guinness left, and Meta, the internet giant, and Microsoft reduced their physical presence in the country, scaling back their office spaces and transitioning to desk sharing for workers.
Under this new agreement, IBM will transfer its regional functions to MIBB, a subsidiary of Midis Group, a multinational IT and telecommunications conglomerate operating across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Read more
Tinubu approves 65 years retirement age for doctors, health workers (NewTelegraph)
President Bola Tinubu, has approved the change in the retirement age of medical doctors and other healthcare professionals in the country from 60 to 65 years.
The National Publicity Secretary of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Dr Mannir Bature, disclosed this to newsmen in a statement made available to newsmen in Abuja on Wednesday.
According to the statement, President Tinubu has also approved the allocation and disbursement of funds necessary to settle their outstanding arrears. Read more
TCIP Comptroller urged to surpass N1t revenue milestone (Sun)
The Managing Director of Muna Sylver Nigeria Limited, Chi Ezeh, has congratulated the Area Controller, Tin Can Island Port (TCIP) Command of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) Comptroller Frank Onyeka, on his sterling performance which earned him an award at the Apapa Command recently.
She urged the Comptroller to surpass the N1 trillion revenue milestones recorded by Comptroller Nnadi Dera at the command in 2024. Comptroller Frank Onyeka was one of the five newly-promoted Comptrollers from the Apapa Port Command given special recognition awards for their excellent service in 2024 which Onyeka specially recognised for revenue generation.
Chi, who gave this commendation in a press statement challenged the new TCIP Customs boss to replicate the sterling revenue feat at Tin Can Island Port. Read more
Assault: Ogun monarch remanded in prison till bail conditions are met (Punch)
The suspended traditional ruler of Orile Ifo, Oba Abdulsemiu Ogunjobi, has been remanded at the Ilaro Correctional Centre in Ogun State after failing to meet his bail conditions.
The spokesperson for the correctional facility, Yinka Odukoya, confirmed this to PUNCH Online on Wednesday, stating that the monarch remained in custody as he had yet to perfect his bail.
Odukoya said, โYes, he is in our custody, which means he has been unable to meet the bail conditions granted by the court yesterday. However, as soon as he does, he will be released.โ Read more
Ariana Grande reveals what โsaved her lifeโ after Mac Millerโs death and Manchester terror attack (Metro)
Ariana Grande has revealed the one thing that โsaved her lifeโ following a terrorist attack at her concert and the death of her ex-boyfriend.
In May 2017, 22 people were killed and many more were injured when a terrorist attack took place at the pop starโs concert.
The bombing was the deadliest terrorist attack in the UK since the 2005 London bombings and took place just a year before the death of Mac Miller. Read more
South Africa’s unity government steady after stormy start (VOA)
In the seven months since it was formed, South Africa’s unlikely unity government has been stretched and cracked but remains intact under the leadership of President Cyril Ramaphosa, who delivers its first state of the nation address Thursday.
Several loud quarrels have erupted over sticking points such as language education in schools and Ramaphosa’s warm words towards Russia but nothing that has made real the threats and fears of collapse.
“They think we are at each other’s throats. We are not. We continue to meet and talk,” Ramaphosa said in the wake of the latest crisis sparked by his signing of a property expropriation bill last month. Read more
Olga James, Carmen Jones actress and singer, dies at 95 (THR)
Olga James, the singer, actress and nightclub performer who portrayed the jilted sweetheart of Harry Belafonteโs character in the landmark Otto Preminger-directed film musical Carmen Jones, has died. She was 95.
James died Jan. 25 at an assisted living facility in Los Angeles of complications from a fall in which she broke her pelvis, her niece, actress and acting teacher Janet Adderley, told The Hollywood Reporter.
James also portrayed the fiancรฉe of Sammy Davis Jr.โs struggling showbiz entertainer in the 1956-57 Broadway musical Mr. Wonderful, and she recurred as Verna Kincaid, the sister-in-law of Bill Cosbyโs high school gym teacher, on the comedianโs eponymous 1969-71 NBC sitcom. Read more
US military plane carrying deported Indians lands in Punjab (BBC)
A US deportation flight carrying about 100 Indian nationals accused of entering the country illegally has landed in the state of Punjab.
The military aircraft, which left Texas late on Tuesday, is now in the city of Amritsar where authorities say they have put measures in place to process the deportees.
President Donald Trump has made the mass deportation of undocumented foreign nationals a key policy. The US is said to have identified about 18,000 Indian nationals it believes entered illegally. Read more
Britain rejects Donald Trump’s Gaza ‘Riviera of Middle East’ plan saying Palestinians must be able to go home (Standard)
Britain has rejected Donald Trumpโs plan for the United States to โtake overโ the Gaza Strip and permanently resettle its Palestinian residents.
The deeply controversial proposal by the new US president to make the small strip of land โthe Riviera of the Middle Eastโ sparked an immediate backlash from American allies and adversaries alike.
The US Presidentโs plan appears certain to heighten tensions ahead of further talks meant to extend the tenuous ceasefire between Israel and Hamas and secure the release of the remaining hostages held in Gaza. Read more
The Aga Khan, spiritual leader of Ismaili Muslims, dies aged 88 (AlJazeera)
The Aga Khan, spiritual leader of the Ismaili Shia Muslim community and known for his development work around the world, has died in Lisbon aged 88.
According to the Aga Khan Development Network, an announcement to designate a successor to Karim al-Husseini, as he was known, will take place soon.
A successor will be chosen from the Aga Khanโs male progeny, according to Ismaili tradition. Read more
1st migrant flight lands at Guantanamo Bay, carrying ‘worst of the worst’ (ABC)
The first flight carrying migrants to Guantanamo Bay arrived Tuesday evening, part of the Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration.
The C-17 plane took off from El Paso, Texas, with a small number of migrants onboard headed for the high-security prison facility that has been used to hold al Qaeda detainees, according to a U.S. official.
The deportation flight landed at at 7:20 p.m. ET, according to U.S. Transportation Command. Read more
2026 World Cup Qualifiers: Super Eagles dates for Rwanda, Zimbabwe matches revealed (Sun)
The Super Eagles of Nigeria will confront the Amavubi of Rwanda in a 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying matchday five encounter on Friday, March 21.
The match will take staged at Kigaliโs Amahoro Stadium.
The three-time African champions will face the Warriors of Zimbabwe five days later at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium in Uyo. The dates for both games were announced on the Super Eaglesโ X handle on Tuesday. Read more
Donโt challenge Bakole โMcGuigan warns Joshua (CompleteSports)
Former boxing icon Barry McGuigan has advised Anthony Joshua to avoid fighting Martin Bakole.
Joshua and Bakole have been linked with one another for a number of years, with Bakole claiming he had โAJโ hurt during an infamous sparring session.
However, Joshua is at a crossroads in his heavyweight career after being brutally knocked out by Daniel Dubois in September and has yet to pencil in concrete details over a return fight. Read more
Boxer undergoes emergency brain surgery following knockout defeat (Metro)
Super-featherweight boxer John Cooney remains in critical condition after undergoing brain surgery following a knockout defeat on Saturday.
Cooney suffered his first professional defeat after a ninth-round stoppage in Belfast against Welshman Nathan Howells
The 28-year-old, who was defending his Celtic super-featherweight title, was initially assessed by medical staff at Ulster Hall before being taken out of the ring on a stretcher. Read more
Fred Vasseur steals the show as Ferrari unveil F1 2025 team kit (PlanetF1)
Ferrari unveiled their 2025 team kit but it wasnโt so much the clothing or the drivers that caught the attention on social media, it was Fred Vasseurโs โmodeling gameโ.
Ferrari have revealed their PUMA kit on social media with new signing Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc showing off the new F1 2025 look.
The new look, according to PUMA, โfeatures sleek, lustrous stripes intricately detailed with white linesโ. It also features a very prominent blue Hewlett-Packard (HP) logo after Ferrari joined forces with the company in 2024, rebranding the team โScuderia Ferrari HPโ. Read more
Football dreams & a business empire’ – Ronaldo’s relentless drive at 40 (BBC)
Every once in a while, Cristiano Ronaldo would drop a message to Portugal national team doctor Jose Carlos Noronha.
“Hey doc, any chance you could recommend a scientific article to read?” Ronaldo used to ask.
The Madeira-born superstar has already admitted “enjoying studying” and “being fascinated by the longevity field,” so that didn’t really come as a surprise to Noronha, who has known the forward since his first Manchester United spell. Read more
Former world No. 1 Simona Halep retires from tennis with emotional speech (CNN)
Two-time grand slam champion and former world No. 1 Simona Halep has retired from tennis.
The Romanian announced her decision at the Transylvania Open in Cluj, Romania on Tuesday after losing her first-round match against Lucia Bronzetti 6-1, 6-1.
โItโs very hard to reach that level, and I know what it takes to get there,โ Halep said while addressing supporters after her defeat, per AP. Read more