Unmarried cop sacked for getting pregnant gets N5m damages (Punch)
The National Industrial Court on Wednesday struck down Regulation 127 of the Nigeria Police Regulation made pursuant to the Police Establishment Act 2020 which provides for the sack of an unmarried woman police officer who gets pregnant.
The PUNCH had in January 2021 exclusively reported how a female corporal, Olajide Omolola, who works in Oye, Ekiti State Police Command, was sacked for getting pregnant outside wedlock.
Aggrieved by her sacking, Omolola challenged her dismissal on the ground that the police authorities had discriminated against her since her male counterparts are not dismissed in similar circumstances.
But in a landmark judgement delivered at the Akure Judicial Division of the National Industrial Court on Wednesday, the presiding judge, Justice D. K. Damulak, held that the police regulation which permits the dismissal of unmarried pregnant policewomen was “discriminatory, illegal, null and void” Read more
Why 110,000 passports remain uncollected – Immigration Service (Vanguard)
The Nigeria Immigration Service NIS has disclosed that it has no fewer than 110,000 passports lying in its vaults, with their owners not coming forward to collect them.
According to the Service, about 60 percent of passport applicants go through third parties who usually input wrong details during the application.
Service Spokesman, DCI Tony Akuneme disclosed this in a statement issued Wednesday in Abuja.
He said; “The NIS wishes to inform Nigerians that there are a total of 110, 000 uncollected passports in the 36 states of the country plus FCT.
“For this reason, the CGI has dispatched very senior officers of the rank of Assistant Comptrollers General to the various Zones and ensure these uncollected Passports are distributed to their owners. Read more
Lagos engages private firms for hospitals’ inspection (Punch)
The Health Facilities Monitoring and Accreditation Agency has said it has outsourced its inspection of health facilities in Lagos State to eight private organisations.
The Chairman of the Governing Board, Dr Yemisi Solanke-Koya, disclosed this, according to a statement on Wednesday, during a press briefing held at the agency’s office in Alausa, Ikeja.
Solanke-Koya added that the monitoring will commence immediately with a six-month pilot phase which will be reviewed for better delivery at the end of June 2023.
She said, “The objective of the outsourcing is to increase the monitoring coverage of health facilities to ensure improved quality of healthcare delivery to the residents of the state. Read more
Jet-ski rider drowns in Lekki-Ikoyi inland waterways (Vanguard)
Tragedy struck on Wednesday evening when a yet-to-be-identified adult male, drowned while riding on a jet ski on Lekki-Ikoyi inland waterways, Lagos Island.
The incident, according to an eyewitness, occurred at about 6. pm.
Permanent Secretary, PS, Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, LASEMA, Dr. Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu, confirmed the unfortunate incident.
According to Oke-Osanyitolu, “It was discovered by the agency’s responders on duty at the lekki base that an unidentified male adult drowned at the Lekki-Ikoyi inland waterways as a result of overspeeding while he was riding on a jet ski at the said location. Read more
Stakeholders task government on free education, welfare for visually impaired persons (Guardian)
An appeal has been made to the Federal Government to provide free education and job opportunities for visually impaired people in Nigeria. Chief Executive Officer, MOJEC Nigeria Limited, Mrs Mojisola Abdul, made the appeal at the 2022 graduation ceremony of the Federal Nigeria Society for the Blind (FNSB) held in Oshodi, Lagos.
Abdul stated that the visually impaired were passing through enormous challenges and, given the economic downturn, needed more financial and moral support to contribute their quota to national development.
The 28 graduating students had undergone two-year residential training in ICT and assistive technology, personal development, entrepreneurship studies, Braille reading orientation and mobility, bead making and vocational skills, among others.
Abdul gave cash donations to the graduands to boost their vocational skills and also provided scholarship slots for new visually impaired students for the new academic session. Read more
Nigeria decides 2023: Defend your health status, corruption by SPV, APC PCC challenges Atiku (Sun)
The All Progressives Congress (APC) Tinubu/Shettima Presidential Campaign Council (PCC), has challenged the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, to speak on his health status and corruption by Special Purpose Vehicles (SPV) allegation against him.
The PCC specifically urged Atiku to come clean on his scandalous confession of how he colluded with his former boss, Olusegun Obasanjo, to fleece the Nigerian treasury, using the SPV after becoming Vice-President in 1999.
The statement issued by Bayo Onanuga, Director, Media & Publicity, APC PCC quipped that Atiku ought to have stepped down from the race following the release of his audio clip, in which he provides a vivid explanation into the modus operandi of his legendary corruption. Read more
Court sacks Ondo deputy speaker, reinstates Iroju (ThisDay)
An Akure High Court yesterday voided the appointment of Mr. Samuel Aderoboye as the deputy speaker of the Ondo State House of Assembly and ordered the reinstatement of Hon. Ogundeji Iroju, as the deputy speaker of the assembly.
The court, which was presided over by Justice Adetan Osadebey, described as illegal, null and void the purported removal of the lawmaker representing Odigbo Constituency 1 in the state assembly as the deputy speaker on November 24, 2020, by some members of the Assembly.
Recall that Ogundeji was impeached in 2020 following a crisis that erupted in the House of Assembly in the build up to the October 10 governorship election in Ondo State where he kicked against a move to impeach the then Deputy Governor, Mr. Agboola Ajayi.
The assembly later appointed Aderoboye as the deputy speaker, the position he was occupying as at the time of the court’s judgment was delivered yesterday. Read more
Childish Gambino is back in the studio: “I’m Making Music Right Now” (Vibe)
While backstage at the 2023 Golden Globe Awards, Donald Glover a.k.a. Childish Gambino confirmed that he’s been back in the studio making music. As he’s been more focused on TV and film lately with shows like Atlanta, many fans began to think that they wouldn’t get another Childish Gambino song for a while, as Glover has hinted at retiring his musical moniker for some time now.
“I’m making music right now. I love it,” stated Donald Glover backstage. “I’m actually in the studio. I’ve been bringing people in, like secret people, working on little things. I’ve been just making it for fun right now. But soon something will happen. I promise.”
Also speaking on rumors of retiring as a Hip-Hop artist, he added, “No, that was out in the ethos… You don’t have to worry about that. He’ll be back. He’s here right now.”
Childish Gambino’s last musical effort was his 2020 studio album 3.15.20 which included singles, “Time,” “12:38” and “24:19 (Sweet Thang).” He’s also featured on Latto’s 2022 single “Sunshine” with Lil Wayne. As a respected musician, Donald Glover has already gone platinum with his 2016 album “Awaken, My Love!” The boasted smash single, “Redbone” has also gone Platinum five times. Read more
“200 Motels”: Frank Zappa delivers a classic under pressure (UDiscoverMusic)
Years in the making, 1971’s 200 Motels was one of the most ambitious projects of Frank Zappa’s remarkable career. It eventually took the form of a groundbreaking feature film and a daring and eclectic double album on which electric blues and psychedelic pop rubbed shoulders with nods to modern classical composers Edgard Varèse, Igor Stravinsky, and Anton Webern. It could only have been made by Frank Zappa in 1971 – an uncompromising satire of the music business demonstrating the composer’s unique and vivid talent.
The music Zappa composed for 200 Motels was brought to life by The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, but its beginnings were less refined, as he told Coq in 1974, “I’ve been writing music in hotel rooms for years and years. I wanted to find some way of getting it played… So I devised a screenplay that chronicled in an abstract way the activities of the group on the road for a certain period of time and used the music that had been written in the motels as the scoring for the film.”
Some of Zappa’s motel music was aired publicly as far back as October 28, 1968, when the Mothers Of Invention performed with 13 musicians from the BBC Symphony Orchestra at the Royal Festival Hall, London. Parts of 200 Motels tracks “Restaurant Scene,” “This Town Is A Sealed Tuna Sandwich,” and “What’s The Name Of Your Group” featured in the set, which was later released on the 1993 set, Ahead Of Their Time. And a May 1970 performance by The Mothers and the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra in LA included a 49-minute set called “Excerpts From 200 Motels.” Read more
Sixteen Candles star Carole Cook dead at 98 (PageSix)
Hollywood has lost another great.
Carole Cook died of heart failure on Wednesday in Beverly Hills, her husband, actor Tom Troupe, announced.
Cook would have celebrated her 99th birthday on Saturday.
The legendary entertainer’s career spanned decades. Known as Lucille Ball’s protégé, the Texas native moved to California at her mentor’s behest, per Variety. Read more
2023 DGA Nominations include Top Gun, TÁR, but women directors shut out of Top 5 (Indiewire)
The Directors Guild of America has announced the nominations for its two film categories at the upcoming 75th annual DGA Awards.
While The Fabelmans director Steven Spielberg getting into the Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Theatrical Feature Film category a second year in a row was the most expected outcome, the rest of the list calls for a longer conversation about how the Guild has shown unexpected progress and unfortunately expected regression.
After two years in a row where a woman director won the DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Theatrical Feature Film (Nomadland director Chloé Zhao in 2021 and The Power of the Dog director Jane Campion in 2022), the guild did not even nominate a single woman in the category this year. Though it was a predictable outcome as the most likely candidates, Women Talking director Sarah Polley and The Woman King director Gina Prince-Bythewood, both have films that have overall not racked up as many awards wins as Martin McDonagh’s The Banshees of Inisherin or Todd Field’s TÁR so far, the exclusion still stings. Read more
Jeff Beck: British guitar legend dies aged 78 (BBC)
Jeff Beck, one of the most influential rock guitarists of all time, has died at the age of 78.
The British musician rose to fame as part of the Yardbirds, where he replaced Eric Clapton, before forming the Jeff Beck group with Rod Stewart.
His tone, presence and, above all, volume redefined guitar music in the 1960s, and influenced movements like heavy metal, jazz-rock and even punk.
Beck’s death was confirmed on his official Twitter page. Read more
Taylor Swift, Harry Styles and Lizzo lead 2023 iHeart Radio Awards nominees (Variety)
Harry Styles, Lizzo, and Taylor Swift are among the top nominees for the 2023 iHeartRadio Music Awards, airing live from the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on Monday, March 27 on Fox.
The nominations for the 2023 ceremony were announced Wednesday, and the chart-topping artists are tied as the night’s most recognized acts, leading the genre-expansive list with eight nominations each. Dua Lipa, Drake and Jack Harlow come close with six each, all three achieving marks in the night’s biggest categories like artist and song of the year.
“It’s been a great year for music with so many inspiring hits, we can’t wait to celebrate these artists and songs at the 2023 iHeartRadio Music Awards,” said Tom Poleman, president and chief programming officer for iHeartMedia in a statement. “Our annual awards show is one of the best in the industry at celebrating the power of music. This year’s show will once again entertain fans with incredible performances and special collaborations, it will be the year’s must-see event.” Read more
Russia replaces general in charge of Ukraine war in latest military shake-up (Guardian)
Russia has appointed Valery Gerasimov, chief of the general staff, as its overall commander for the war in Ukraine, in the latest of several major shake-ups of Moscow’s military leadership during the stumbling invasion of its neighbour.
In a statement on Wednesday, the defence ministry said that Gerasimov’s appointment constituted a “raising of the status of the leadership” of the military force in Ukraine and was implemented to “improve the quality … and effectiveness of the management of Russian forces”.
Sergei Surovikin, a notorious general nicknamed “General Armageddon” by the Russian media, who was appointed as overall commander of the army in October, would stay on as a deputy of Gerasimov, the defence ministry said.
Gerasimov, like the defence minister, Sergei Shoigu, has faced sharp criticism from Russia’s hawkish military bloggers for multiple setbacks on the battlefield and Moscow’s failure to secure victory in a campaign the Kremlin had expected to take just a short time. Read more
Former king of Greece and Prince William’s godfather, Constantine, dies age 82 (Sky)
The former and last king of Greece, Constantine, has died aged 82 in an Athens hospital, his doctors have announced.
Constantine, who was the nephew of the late Duke of Edinburgh and godfather to Prince William, had been treated in an intensive care unit at the private Hygeia Hospital in the Greek capital.
Staff at the hospital had no further details pending an official announcement.
The former monarch acceded to the throne as Constantine II at the age of 23 in 1964 after achieving an Olympic gold medal in sailing at the age of 20 with two other Greek sailors in Rome.
Osimhen nominated for another award (Sun)
EA Sports has released the 100-strong nominee list of the best players from the past 12 months with Napoli striker Victor Osimhen the only Nigeria-eligible player making the cut.
Osimhen has been shortlisted after an outstanding twelve months for club and country.
The 24-year-old mustered nineteen goals and registered seven assists in 32 appearances for Napoli in 2022.
His form for The Blues was also replicated for the Super Eagles, netting five goals in two appearances in the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, which makes him the highest goalscorer after two rounds. Read more
Christian Pulisic out for 2 months out with knee injury – Chelsea boss Graham Potter (ESPN)
Christian Pulisic is expected to be out for up to two months with a knee injury, Chelsea head coach Graham Potter confirmed on Wednesday.
The United States international limped out of last week’s Premier League home defeat to Manchester City and has since undergone a series of tests to determine the extent of the problem.
Speaking ahead of Thursday’s trip to Fulham, Potter told a news conference: “Christian is a couple of months we think, hopefully less, but that’s the timeframe there.”
The news will come as a significant blow to Pulisic, as sources had told ESPN the 24-year-old was eyeing a move away from Stamford Bridge this month. Read more
Southampton 2-0 Manchester City: Nathan Jones lifts the mood at St Mary’s with shock EFL Cup victory (BBC)
Nathan Jones’ approval rating as Southampton manager has barely risen above zero since his arrival on the south coast from Luton Town in November.
Greeted with a discernible wave of indifference by Saints supporters following his appointment, the sight of almost 10,000 empty seats at St Mary’s for an EFL Cup quarter-final against Manchester City was a gauge of the current mood around the club.
Jones has lost his first four Premier League games in charge and when Southampton went a goal behind in the FA Cup third round tie at Crystal Palace at the weekend, the visiting support questioned the validity of his methods and quality of football in what can be politely described as graphic and robust terms.
Southampton went on to win, of course, but it is a sign of the instant demands for success heaped on a new manager that someone who only took over in November was regarded by some as a serious candidate for the sack in early January. Read more
Edinson Cavani claims referee should be “put in jail” in fresh World Cup blast (Mirror)
Former Manchester United striker Edinson Cavani has called for referee Daniel Siebert to be “put in jail” after a controversial end to Uruguay’s World Cup campaign.
Cavani, who turns 36 in February, was part of the team which beat Ghana in their final group game in Qatar. The 2-0 victory wasn’t enough to see Diego Alonso’s team through, though, with a late winner for South Korea against Portugal seeing the Asian nation progress on goals scored.
With such fine margins, a number of decisions from the Ghana game took centre-stage. These include Siebert’s decision not to award a penalty to Uruguay for what they felt was a foul by Daniel Amartey, and Cavani was one of a number of players to chase referee Siebert down the tunnel after the final whistle blew.
Cavani himself had seen a separate penalty appeal turned down, and he was seen punching a VAR monitor after his team’s elimination. The Valencia frontman was shown a yellow card by the referee following his post-match protests, as was team-mate Jose Maria Gimenez, and Gimenez appeared to elbow a FIFA official amid the protests. Read more
Naomi Osaka is pregnant, having 1st baby with rapper Cordae (DailyMail)
Tennis star Naomi Osaka is pregnant and will miss the rest of the 2023 season.
The four-time grand slam champion last week pulled out of this month’s Australian Open without an official reason, but announced on Instagram Wednesday that she is expecting her first child with the rapper Cordae. She posted a picture of the scan.
‘Can’t wait to get back on the court but here’s a little life update for 2023,’ read Osaka’s caption.
Osaka, 25, has been in a relationship with Grammy-nominated American rapper Cordae since 2019. The former world number one has lived in the United States for most of her life but represents Japan, the country of her birth. Read more
Joel Embiid, 76ers praise Jaden Springer’s Showing vs. Pistons (SI)
With the Philadelphia 76ers up big in the second phalf of Tuesday’s game, Philadelphia 76ers head coach Doc Rivers wanted to get his key rotational players off the court. Sixers star James Harden claimed he was urging Rivers to get the second-year guard Jaden Springer on the floor.
“I was telling Doc to put him in earlier,” said Harden after the game. Although Springer was the last reserve to take the floor on Tuesday amid the blowout victory over Detroit, the young guard took on the most minutes he’s ever seen in his two seasons of NBA action.
And Springer was ready for the moment. Read more