‘Tricycle, motorcycles not in Lagos transport masterplan’ (Punch)
The Lagos State Commissioner for Transportation, Frederic Oladeinde, has said that the state is banning Keke and Okada because they are not in the state’s transportation master plan.
He said this in a telephone interview with our correspondent, noting that Lagos as a smart city would require an integrated system consisting of road, water and rail.
He said, “The Okada is not something in our master plan. A smart city like Lagos involves an integrated public transport system that consists of rail, water transport and buses.
“Obviously, we will continue to optimise our road network for more usage and that’s the future of Lagos State.” Read more
Effective policing requires meticulousness, planning, says Sanwo-Olu (Guardian)
Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has declared that security and safety of lives and property requires government’s deliberate, urgent attention and cooperation of citizens.
Speaking at the passing out parade of community policing special constabulary officers in Lagos yesterday, he said in efforts to address insecurity challenge, there was a national consensus on the need to embrace community policing, which had been identified as a strategy that would complement the Nigeria Police to effectively combat crime.
Sanwo-Olu, who was represented by his Chief of Staff (COS), Tayo Ayinde said: “Today, progress has been made towards actualising this initiative. The passing out parade of 1,250 special constabulary officers who have been trained with skills required for the job is an indication of government’s commitment to the initiative. Read more
FG owes 79% of n20tr domestic debts, as lagos leads states (DailyTrust)
The federal government has 79 per cent of the N20 trillion domestic debt profile as of September 2020, according to the DMO.
The FG has N15.846tr as its domestic debt while Lagos state leads with a huge chunk of the N4.19tr owed by the states.
DMO has said Nigeria’s debt profile climbed to N32trn in September. N12tr is for outstanding external debt while N20tr is for domestic debt of the federal government, FCT and the 36 states.
Analysis of the federal government domestic debt shows that bonds account for N11.65tr, treasury bills occupy N2.7tr while promissory Note is N971.9 billion. The rest are Treasury bonds, N100,9bn; Savings bond, 12.5bn; Sukuk, N362.6bn; and Green bond, N25.7bn.
The rest of 21 per cent is owed by the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) which amounts to N4.19tr. of this amount, Lagos is leading the states on the debt list with N493.3bn debt. It is followed by Rivers state with N266.9bn debt, then Akwa Ibom with N239.2bn and Delta with N235.8bn debt. Read more
Seven injured as tipper, SUV crash on Ibadan rail line (Punch)
Seven persons were on Tuesday injured as a tipper and a Sport Utility Vehicle fell off the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway and landed on the railway track which passes under the road.
Eyewitnesses told our correspondent that the accident happened at Rainbow bus stop inside Ibadan towards the Ojoo end of the expressway.
The two vehicles were said to be heading towards the same direction, lost control and fell off the bridge.
One of the eyewitnesses, Abiodun Jegede, told our correspondent it was possible for the vehicles to fall off bridge because there were no railings on the bridge. Read more
Nigeria targets maritime hub with N2.6b Badagry seaport (DailyTrust)
The Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Bashir Jamoh, has said the Badagry Deep Seaport project in Lagos State is a strategic step towards the development of Nigeria as a global maritime hub.
He stated this when he paid a courtesy visit to the paramount ruler of Badagry Kingdom, His Royal Majesty, De-Wheno Aholu Menu Toyi 1, the Akran of Badagry.
Jamoh said the visit was meant to honour the traditional ruler and his kingdom for allocating land to NIMASA to establish a presence in the community, before the take-off of the deep seaport project, with the foundation beginning this month.
The Badagry Deep Seaport project is being executed through a public-private partnership overseen by the Federal Ministry of Transportation, Federal Ministry of Trade and Investment, and Lagos State Government, as well as a private consortium of APM Terminals, Orlean Invest, Oando, Terminal Investment Limited (TIL), and Macquarie. Read more
Paternity scandal: FCMD MD goes on leave as probe begins (Punch)
The Managing Director, First City Monument Bank Limited, Adam Nuru, has been forced to go on leave to enable the bank to investigate the paternity allegations against him.
This was disclosed in a statement by the bank on Tuesday.
The statement read, “We are aware of several stories circulating across several media platforms about our bank’s Managing Director, Adam Nuru; a former employee, Mrs Moyo Thomas, and her deceased husband, Mr Tunde Thomas.
“While this is a personal matter, the tragedy of the death of Mr Tunde Thomas and the allegations of unethical conduct require the bank’s board to conduct a review of what transpired, any violations of our code of ethics and the adequacy of this code of ethics. Read more
Cabinet Reshuffle: Udom Emmanuel swears in 4 commissioners, 5 perm secs (Vanguard)
Governor Udom Emmanuel has sworn in four new Commissioner designates and five new permanent secretaries into Akwa Ibom State Executive Council and Akwa Ibom State Civil Service respectively.
The Commissioner designates are Uko Udom SAN, Dr. John James Etim, Mrs Idongesit Etiebet and Pastor Umo Eno.
The Permanent Secretaries are Mr. Ini James Ikie, Dr. Ini Jackson Etukudo, Mrs. Esther Aniekan Inyang, Mrs. Grace Paulinus Jim, and Mrs. Abasiekeme Victor Essien
The swearing-in ceremony took place at Banquet hall, Government House, Uyo, on Monday, 4th January, 2021. Read more
Again, UI clears Obaseki of certificate forgery allegation (Guardian)
The University of Ibadan (UI) authorities, yesterday, cleared Edo State Governor Godwin Obaseki of allegation of certificate forgery.
Yesterday’s clearance was the second time since the opposition accused the governor of the offence.
The All Progressives Congress (APC) and one of its chieftains, Williams Edobor, had filed a suit against Obaseki at the Federal High Court, Abuja, alleging that the governor forged his university certificate which he tendered to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as part of his qualification for the September 19, 2020 governorship election in Edo State. Read more
Dr Dre hospitalised after suffering brain aneurysm (PageSix)
Dr Dre was hospitalised in Los Angeles on Monday after suffering a brain aneurysm.
The music mogul, as of Tuesday, was in stable condition at Cedars Sinai Medical Center, according to a source familiar with the situation.
Nicole Young seeking close to $2M in monthly spousal support from Dr. Dre
Dre underwent several tests Tuesday as it was not immediately known what caused the condition, the source said.
Reps for Dre did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Read more
Grammy Awards postponed due to COVID-19 surge in L.A. (CBC)
This year’s Grammy Awards ceremony, which was set for Jan. 31, has been postponed due to a surge of COVID-19 cases in Los Angeles, organizers confirmed on Tuesday.
The Recording Academy told The Associated Press on Tuesday that the annual show would shift from its original Jan. 31 broadcast to a later date in March. The ceremonies will be held in Los Angeles at the Staples Center.
Los Angeles is experiencing a spike in coronavirus deaths and hospital admissions. Gyms, hair salons and restaurants have been shut down and residents are being urged to stay at home as much as possible. Read more
11 men charged with raping, killing flight attendant found dead in Philippines (NYPost)
A Philippine Airlines flight attendant died after being raped at a New Year’s Eve party — and all of the 11 men who were with her have been charged with her rape and homicide, it was revealed Tuesday.
Christine Angelica Dacera, 23, was found unconscious in the empty bathtub of her room at the City Garden Grand Hotel in Makati City early Jan. 1, The Philippine Daily Inquirer said.
Friends and hotel staff raced the Filipino stewardess to a nearby hospital, where she was later pronounced dead, officials told the paper.
She initially appeared to have died from an aneurysm but police said she also had “lacerations and sperm in her genitalia” as well as scratches on her arms and legs. Read more
Dozens of Hong Kong pro-democracy figures arrested: reports (CBC)
About 50 Hong Kong pro-democracy figures were arrested by police on Wednesday under a national security law, following their involvement in an unofficial primary election last year held to increase their chances of controlling the legislature, according to local media reports.
Those arrested included former lawmakers and pro-democracy activists, and the group were arrested on suspicion of subversion under the territory’s national security law, according to reports by local newspaper South China Morning Post and online news platform Now News.
At least seven members of Hong Kong’s Democratic Party — the territory’s largest opposition party — were arrested, including former party chairman Wu Chi-wai. Former lawmakers, including Helena Wong, Lam Cheuk-ting, and James To, were also arrested, according to a post on the party’s Facebook page. Read more
Saudi Arabia and allies restore diplomatic ties with Qatar (BBC)
Diplomatic relations have been restored between Qatar and four Arab states that imposed an embargo against it for three years, the Saudi foreign minister says.
Prince Faisal bin Farhad told reporters that the countries had agreed to “fully set our differences aside” at a Gulf Co-operation Council summit on Tuesday.
Earlier, Saudi Arabia’s crown prince publicly embraced the emir of Qatar.
Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt cut ties with Qatar in 2017, accusing it of supporting terrorism. Read more
Counting underway in high-stakes US Senate elections (CBC)
Georgia officials began counting the final votes of the nation’s turbulent 2020 election season on Tuesday night as polls closed in two critical races that will determine control of the US Senate and, in turn, the fate of US.president-elect Joe Biden’s legislative agenda.
The two Senate run-off elections are leftovers from the November general election, when none of the candidates hit the 50 per cent threshold. Democrats need to win both races to seize the Senate majority — and, with it, control of the new Congress when Biden takes office in two weeks.
Experts have warned that final results may not be known for days since counties have to count large numbers of mail-in ballots. During November’s presidential race, Biden did not take the lead over incumbent Donald Trump in Georgia until days after the polls closed. Read more
Maduro loyalists take control of parliament in Venezuela (BBC)
In Venezuela, a new National Assembly has been sworn in which is dominated by lawmakers from the socialist party led by President Nicolás Maduro.
Until now, the National Assembly had been the only major institution not controlled by Mr Maduro’s PSUV party.
The coalition led by his party won 256 out of 277 seats in the election held in December, which most opposition candidates boycotted.
The opposition has dismissed the poll as neither free nor fair. Read more
Confed Cup: CAF cancels Rivers, Celtic clash (Punch)
The Confederation of African Football has cancelled Wednesday’s (today) Confederation Cup clash between Rivers United and South African side Bloemfontein Celtic.
The African football governing body announced the cancellation via their Twitter media channel @CAF_Online on Tuesday.
“The Nigeria Football Federation last night stated that the South African delegation cannot be exempted from the required quarantine: the match shall not take place as scheduled, Wednesday, January 6, 2021,” CAF wrote. Read more
CAFCL: Enyimba seek decisive redemption against Al-Merreikh (DailyTrust)
Two-time CAF Champions League winners, Enyimba will today seek to redeem their battered image when they battle Al-Merreikh of Sudan in the second leg at the Aba Stadium.
It will be recalled that the Sudanese took the Nigerians to the cleaners with a 3-0 victory in the first leg with Saif Terry scoring all three goals.
Enyimba will need to score at least four unreplied goals to see them qualify for the money-spinning group stage of the competition, while a loss will see them drop into the playoff round of the CAF Confederation Cup.
A 3-0 victory for Enyimba after 90 minutes would take the tie straight to a penalty shootout, but if Al-Merreikh scores just a goal, the Aba Warriors will need five goals to make it to the next round. Read more
Solskjaer Sets Eyes Carabao Cup Success (Independent)
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer says winning the Carabao Cup would be a “very, very big step” for Manchester United as his side look to make it fourth time lucky in Wednesday’s semi-final against Manchester City.
United lost to Pep Guardiola’s men in the final four of the competition last season, before going onto lose in the semi-finals of the FA Cup and Europa League.
Solskjaer said: “The next game is always important but of course a semi-final is a chance to get to the final, to get your hands on a trophy in the next round and for this team it would be a very, very big step getting your hands on a trophy. Read more
USA forward Alex Morgan contracts coronavirus (BBC)
United States forward Alex Morgan says she and her family “closed out 2020” by contracting coronavirus “while in California over the holidays”.
Morgan recently rejoined Orlando Pride after a short spell at Women’s Super League side Tottenham.
The 31-year-old is a two-time World Cup winner and scored six goals at France 2019.
“We are all in good spirits and recovering well,” said Morgan on social media. Read more
WTA releases schedule up to Wimbledon championships in late June (CBC)
The WTA announced a provisional calendar for the women’s tour on Tuesday with events lined up until the Wimbledon championships in June-July.
The sport’s governing body had previously announced the first seven weeks of the tour, starting with the season-opening WTA 500 event in Abu Dhabi from Thursday.
Apart from the three Grand Slams — Australian Open (starting Feb. 8), French Open (May 23) and Wimbledon (June 28) — the first half of the year will have four WTA 1000 events in Dubai and Miami (both in March), Madrid (April) and Rome (May). Read more
Tottenham beat Brentford to reach EFL Cup final (BBC)
Jose Mourinho said Tottenham Hotspur had been rewarded for taking the Carabao Cup seriously as they moved to within one game of a first trophy in 13 years with a semi-final win over Brentford.
Spurs have not claimed silverware since they beat Chelsea in the 2008 League Cup final and they were made to work hard before seeing off the Championship promotion chasers in this one-leg semi-final at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Mourinho has won the cup on four occasions and goals from Moussa Sissoko and Son Heung-min ensured he now has the chance to make that five, having become the third manager to reach the final with three different teams.
“I came to England in 2004 and I remember that in that period I had to learn the meaning of the cups here and I always took it seriously,” he said. Read more