Traders, others reject old Naira notes (Guardian)
Traders, operators of Point On Sale (POS), and commercial motorcycle and tricycle operators have started rejecting the old N200, N500 and N1000 currency notes in Gombe State.
Commercial motorcycle and tricycle operators in the state metropolis now demand transfer from passengers rather than accept the old notes.
Aside from these, many filing stations too have shut down for fear of trading with the said currencies.
All these are in spite of the directives of the Central Bank of Nigeria against such a move.
The Guardian Newspaper discovered that many traders especially petty traders always demand the display of new Naira notes before opening discussion with anyone seeking their attention failure of which they turned their backs against further negotiations. Read more
Elections: Follow prayer with action, Kumuyi tells christians (Punch)
The General Superintendent of Deeper Life Bible Church, Pastor Williams Kumuyi, has advised christians to take action with their prayers ahead of the forthcoming 2023 general election.
Kumuyi gave the advice in Asaba, the Delta State capital on Wednesday when he arrived the city for a six-day global crusade.
He said, “We are praying for the election but then we must follow up our prayers with action by coming out to vote en masse.
“Action in the sense that all those who are eligible to vote, should be intelligent and shouldn’t just cast their votes for wrong leaders. We should be careful by deciding who will rule over us
“We are having security and economic problems at the moment, yes, we are praying but we need to come out en masse to elect good leaders. Read more
Strike: FG warns aviation workers, says grounding of airports illegal (DailyTrust)
The Federal Government has said it will not allow a repeat of last Monday’s strike by aviation unions which grounded activities at key international airports in Abuja and Lagos.
The Minister of Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika, said this on Wednesday while fielding questions from State House reporters after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting presided over by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
The minister, who apologised to the affected passengers, said such action was not permitted going by the provisions of the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) Act.
He regretted the damage such action could have done to sick passengers or those traveling for examination after the return of an aircraft to its base. Read more
Slain Lagos lawyer’s husband, sister to testify Thursday (Nation)
The Lagos State High Court sitting at the Tafawa Balewa Square (TBS) will on Thursday hear more eyewitness accounts of the killing of a Lagos-based lawyer, Mrs. Omobolanle Raheem, on Christmas Day, allegedly by an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Mr. Drambi Vandi.
Expected to enter the witness box as third and fourth prosecution witnesses are the deceased’s husband Gbenga Raheem and her sister.
Justice Ibironke Harrison fixed the date Wednesday after concluding the testimonies of the first two prosecution witnesses, Mr. Matthew Ameh and Mr. Fiyegha Ebimine – both Police Inspectors. Read more
Lagos-East PDP senatorial candidate lampoons APC lawmaker, Abiru for poor performance (Independent)
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Lagos-East senatorial candidate, Nicholas Akobada, has taken a swipe at lawmakers giving constituents monthly stipends in the name of empowerment, describing the act as a cosmetic approach to empowering the people, even as he lampoons serving senator representing the constituency, Tokunbo Abiru for poor performance.
Akobada made the remarks during a chat with journalists yesterday while acquainting them on his programmes for the people ahead of the February 25th, polls.
While reeling out plans to initiate masses oriented bills if elected, the two-time former supervisory councilor said the incumbent Lagos-East Senator, Tokunbo Abiru, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) doesn’t deserve reelection considering his woeful performance. Read more
Aviation workers strike: FG issues apology, says ‘‘It won’t happen again’’ (Vanguard)
The Federal Government on Wednesday, apologized to those making use of air transportation over the recent strike embarked upon by the National Union of Air Transport Employees and the Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, vowing that it will not happen again.
The apology came on the heels of the disruption of local and international flights for several hours as a result of the strike embarked upon by the aviation unions.
Fielding questions from State House correspondents at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, the Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, described the action as wrong, inhuman and against the law, vowing that the enforcement of the law recently assented to by President Muhammadu Buhari has begun in earnest. Read more
Gunmen abduct mother, child in Osun, demand N5m ransom (Tribune)
Palpable fears in Osogbo, the capital of Osun state following the kidnap of a middle aged woman, Mrs. Olayinka Tosin Kayode and her child by gunmen.
The whereabouts of the victims abducted by the evil perpetrators at Ota-efun/Kobongbogboe areas of the town on Tuesday still remain unknown at the time of filing in this report.
Informed sources hinted that the incident happened while the victims were returning from their shop located along the axis on this fateful day. Read more
Man beats girlfriend to death in Bayelsa (DailyTrust)
A man believed to be in his 30s, identified as Arepamowei Koru from Ogobiri Community in Sagbama Local Government Area of Bayelsa State has beaten his 22-year-old girlfriend, Toma Serve-god Angolo to death in the state.
The two lovers were said to be cohabiting in the man’s community before the tragic incident occurred on Tuesday.
Residents of the community told Daily Trust that the lovers have been staying together without any quarrel before a minor disagreement happened on Tuesday that led to the fight. Read more
Jay-Z to perform at 2023 Grammy Awards (HipHopDX)
Jay-Z has reportedly been tapped to perform at the 2023 Grammy Awards.
According to HITS Daily Double, Hov is among the A-list names set to hit the stage at “music’s biggest night,” which takes place at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on February 5.
The publication suggested the Brooklyn-bred billionaire will “possibly” be joined by DJ Khaled, whose star-studded “God Did” song he helped earn multiple nominations with his show-stopping guest verse.
Bad Bunny and Harry Styles are also said to be likely performers at this year’s Grammys, along with Mary J. Blige, Dave Grohl and Brandi Carlile.
The Recording Academy has reportedly faced “enormous hurdles” while organizing this year’s show, with a growing number of high-profile artists distancing themselves from the Grammys.
Insiders say it’s “unlikely” that Kendrick Lamar, Beyoncé and Taylor Swift — who are all up for multiple major awards — will perform, while Adele is “pretty definitively” skipping the ceremony altogether, despite being nominated for Album of the Year, Song of the Year and Record of the Year. Read more
“Harry & Meghan” director Liz Garbus claims palace tried to ‘discredit’ Netflix series (NYPost)
Liz Garbus, the director of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s latest Netflix series dubbed “Harry & Meghan,” slammed Buckingham Palace officials for their attempt to “discredit” the series.
The 6-part docuseries saw the Duke and Duchess of Sussex divulge on what life was like before, during, and after living in the palace. It also provided an inside look at the circumstances that led the couple to step away from the British royal family in 2020.
Garbus, who directed the entire series, says each episode gives the public insight into the “alleged palace mind games” Harry and Meghan were forced to put up with at the hands of other royals.
“For instance, Buckingham Palace said that we didn’t reach out for comment [on the docuseries] when we did,” Garbus told Vanity Fair. “They did that to discredit us…and by discrediting us, they can discredit the content of the show.” Read more
Metallica announce listening party for new album “72 Seasons’’ in cinemas worldwide (NME)
Metallica have shared details of their global premiere of “72 Seasons’’, allowing fans to listen to their new album in full alongside its accompanying music videos in cinemas.
The one-off listening party is due to be held on Thursday, April 13, the day before the record’s release.
“72 Seasons’’ will be aired in surround sound exclusively for cinema audiences worldwide. Each new song features its own music video and commentary from the band. Read more
T.I. explains why he didn’t sign Young Thug and 21 Savage for $1m (HipHopDX)
T.I. has explained why he turned down the opportunity to sign Young Thug and 21 Savage for $1 million.
Sitting down with Shannon Sharpe on his Club Shay Shay podcast, Tip opened up about the two Atlanta rappers both wanting to sign a seven-figure deal with his Grand Hustle label, but he chose not to due to the amount he’d have to take from them in return.
“At this point in my career, I find it honorable to be able to tell new artists when they come up to me,” he said. “You know, 21 Savage, [Young] Thug. A lot of them come up to me, ‘Aye man, give me a million, Tip. I don’t care what you do, just give me a million and let me handle it from there.’ Read more
Elvis star Austin Butler pays touching tribute to Lisa Marie Presley after Oscar nomination (OK!)
Elvis star Austin Butler has paid tribute to the late Lisa Marie Presley after he was nominated for an Oscar for his role as the iconic Elvis Presley in the 2022 film biopic, Elvis.
Not only did the 31 year old actor get nominated for Best Actor, but the film, directed by Baz Lurhmann, was nominated for seven other Oscars, including Best Picture.
Lisa Marie, the only daughter of Elvis Presley, tragically died on 13 January, aged just 54, after suffering a cardiac arrest. Read more
Prime Video producing The Silent Service, Amazon’s 1st Japanese original movie (Variety)
Amazon’s Prime Video is in production on The Silent Service, which will mark the streaming platform’s first original movie in Japan.
Separately, Amazon confirmed that it has picked up rights to the Japanese national team’s games in the upcoming 2023 World Baseball Classic.
The Silent Service is a popular manga series written and illustrated by artist Kawaguchi Kaiji, which was published in Kodansha’s Weekly Morning manga magazine from 1988 to 1996, and has sold a total of 32 million copies. Read more
Twitter removes BBC documentary criticising Indian PM Modi (DailyMail)
Elon Musk has caved in to pressure from India and removed a BBC documentary criticising PM Narendra Modi from Twitter.
The two-part documentary, India: The Modi Question, has not been broadcast in India by the BBC, but India’s federal government blocked it over the weekend and banned people from sharing clips on social media, citing emergency powers under its information technology laws.
Twitter and YouTube were ordered by the Indian government to block all links to the film within the country, Kanchan Gupta, a senior adviser in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, said Tuesday. Read more
Napoli to offer Osimhen €7m yearly contract (Punch)
Napoli are prepared to break their wage structure to keep Victor Osimhen at the club and offer him a much bigger salary than he earns now, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.
The Nigerian striker is having a great season at Napoli and has scored 14 times in 19 appearances in all competitions in the ongoing campaign.
He has been heavily linked with a move away from the Serie A giants next season, with multiple clubs across Europe believed to be interested in him.
According to reports in Italy, as reported by AreaNapoli, it has been claimed that Napoli are ready to break their wage structure to keep the striker beyond next summer. Read more
NPFL: Ogunbote, Ogunbodede clash in southwest derby (Punch)
Match-day three of the 2022/23 Nigeria Professional Football League will be wrapped up on Wednesday (today) with a southwest derby between Remo Stars and 3SC in Ikenne, which will see coaches of the two sides; Daniel Ogunbodede and Gbenga Ogunbote clash in the league for the first time, The PUNCH Sports Extra reports.
Remo Stars and 3SC have opposing results going into the game today and the personalities as well as relationship between their coaches add to the potential rivalry between the two clubs.
Ogunbote, 3SC gaffer, was involved in this fixture last season, but he was in charge of Remo Stars, where he oversaw a victory in Ikenne and also earned a point away at Ibadan in the reverse fixture. Both games however didn’t go without the fans of both clubs having a spat. Read more
Noni Madueke squad number revealed as Chelsea hand £30.5m signing 31 shirt (Standard)
Chelsea have handed Noni Madueke the No.31 shirt after he completed a January transfer to the club.
A £30.5million deal to take the 20-year-old winger to Stamford Bridge has been announced by the Blues, their sixth arrival of the transfer window and 15th of the season.
Previous players to wear the 31 shirt at Chelsea include Malang Sarr, Fikayo Tomori, George Weah and Andreas Christensen. Read more
Ivan Toney online abuse: Man apologises for racist message (BBC)
A man has apologised in court for racially abusing Premier League footballer Ivan Toney online.
Antonio Neill, 24, of Blyth, Northumberland, admitted a charge of sending an offensive message.
In October, England and Brentford striker Toney, 26, shared an image of an abusive message he had received on Twitter and police investigated. Read more
Billie Jean King makes Wimbledon ban plea as Aus Open star talks up all-Belarusian final (Express)
Billie Jean King has called on Wimbledon to end the ban on Russian and Belarusian players this summer. “Life is too short,” said the American legend.
Two Belarusian players – Victoria Azarenka and Aryna Sabelenka – could meet in the final at the Australian Open after winning through to separate semi-finals.
But both were banned from SW19 last year and the All England Club are now considering whether to reimpose the suspensions for this year’s event. Unlike the three other Grand Slams and the WTA and ATP Tours, players from both nations were not allowed to play Wimbledon because of the invasion of Ukraine. Read more
Formula 1: Liberty Media accuses FIA president of commercial interference in F1 (StraitsTimes)
Liberty Media-owned Formula One has accused FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem of interfering with its commercial rights by publicly questioning a reported US$20 billion (S$26.3 billion) valuation of the sport.
Ben Sulayem, an Emirati elected in 2021 to the top job at Formula One’s governing body, took to Twitter on Monday after Bloomberg reported Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) explored a bid for more than that amount.
“As the custodians of motorsport, the FIA, as a non-profit organisation, is cautious about alleged inflated price tags of $20bn being put on F1,” Ben Sulayem said on his personal account. Read more