Why Ooni of Ife invited me to his palace – Nkechi Blessing (Vanguard)
Nollywood actress, Nkechi Blessing finally revealed the reason she was visited by the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwunsi, in his palace at Ile-Ife, Osun State.
Recall the actress had earlier made a skit wherein she begged to become the seventh wife of the Ooni of Ife.
To the shock of many on Monday, Blessing posted a picture of herself and the monarch with the caption, “ever met a jovial king? Well this picture says it all. I have never laughed this hard in a long time.
“Thank you so much for the warm reception of his Imperial Majesty Ooni of Ife, Oba Enitan Adeyeye Ogunwusi Ojaja II. God bless your existence.” Read more
REISSUED-2023: Court refuses to order INEC to resume CVR over short day to election (Sun)
A Federal High Court, Abuja, on Tuesday, refused to direct the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to resume the continuous voter’s registration (CVR) exercise.
Justice Inyang Ekwo, in a judgment, held that going by the date of thie verdict, INEC would have had “just a few days away from 90 days before the general elections.
Justice Ekwo, however, declared that INEC “is expected pursuant to the provisions of Sections 76 (2), 77 (2), 116 (2), 117 (2), 132 (2) & (5) and 178 (2) and (5) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) as well as Sections 9 (1), 9 (6), 10 (1) and 12 (1) of the Electoral Acts, 2022, to continue voters registration, update and revision of voters register until 90 days before the General Election billed to take place on Feb. 25 and March 11.
“It is the constitutional responsibility of the defendant (INEC) to make sure that every prospective Nigeria voter who have shown desire to register to vote are not deprived, their civil right to register and participate in the forthcoming general elections scheduled to teke place on 25th February, 2023 and 11th March, 2023.”
According to Justice Ekwo, “this court is unable to grant relief number 3 of the plaintiffs because going by the date of this judgement, from the date of this judgement, the defendant will have just a few days away from 90 days before the general elections of 25th February, 2023 and 11th March, 2023.” Read more
Wike introduces free school feeding programme, presents ₦550bn 2023 budget (Guardian)
Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, has presented a budget estimate of ₦550 billion for the 2023 fiscal year, the highest to be projected by his administration since assuming office in 2015.
Wike christened the budget ‘Budget of Consolidation and Continuity’.
He said the 2023 budget proposal is anchored on the assumptions that crude oil price benchmark will be $70 per barrel at a 1.5 million barrel production per day; an exchange rate of N435 to the dollar; and state economic growth projection of between 4.5 and 5%, among others.
According to him, the budget will be funded from the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) receipts, 13% Oil Mineral Derivation Fund, Internally Generated Revenue, bank loans, sales of state assets and grants from development agencies. Read more
Experts proffer ways to strengthen PPP structure (DailyTrust)
Stakeholders in the private and public sectors have suggested ways to further strengthen the Public Private Partnership (PPP) structure in Lagos State with a view to delivering greater value, impact more people and improving service delivery.
The recommendations of the experts and speakers were contained in various presentations at an interactive session between the Office of PPP (OPPP) and members of the Lagos State House of Assembly’s Committee on PPP, which was held yesterday in Lagos.
It was suggested that ensuring value for money expended on PPP projects was the responsibility of the OPPP, house committee and the private equity investors, and called on all stakeholders in a PPP arrangement to understand the requirements of PPP, including project financing from the beginning to the end. Read more
Fans plan Lagos concert for Davido (Nation)
Afrobeats singer Davido‘s fans on Twitter are gearing up to hold a massive celebration for their idol in Lagos.
Despite having made huge plans for his birthday, the ‘Stand Strong’ crooner couldn’t go ahead with any as a result of the tragic death of his son.
But the day didn’t go by without his well-wishers, including dignitaries, celebrities and fans from around the globe felicitating and sending him love on his birth anniversary.
The singer’s teeming fans, known as the 30BGs, are getting set to celebrate their king in a few days. Read more
New N1k, N500 and N200 notes for unveiling tomorrow — Emefiele (Tribune)
President Muhammadu Buhari will unveil new N1,000, N500 and N200 notes tomorrow Wednesday, November 23, 2022.
The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele on Tuesday said this during the apex bank’s Monetary Policy Committee monthly meeting in Abuja.
Emefiele said that the CBN will not shift its deadline for all old notes to be returned to commercial banks in exchange for newly designed ones.
Recall that Emefiele had on October 26, 2022 announced that the apex bank will issue redesigned N200, N500, and N1,000 notes, effective December 15, 2022, while the new and existing currencies will remain legal tender and circulate together until January 31, 2023. Read more
CBN raises interest rate to 16.5% (Punch)
The Monetary Policy Committee of the Central Bank of Nigeria voted Tuesday to increase the benchmark interest rate by 100 basis points to 16.5 per cent, the highest since 2001.
The CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, disclosed this while reading the communique of the last MPC meeting of the year on Tuesday, November 22, 2022.
The MPC said the tightening would curb a higher rate of inflation and restore investors’ confidence.
According to a report by Nairametrics, the highlights of the MPC meeting included: increase MPR by 100 basis points to 16.5 per cent; the asymmetric corridor of +100/-700 basis points around the MPR was retained; the CRR was retained at 32.5 per cent; while the Liquidity Ratio was also kept at 30 per cent. Read more
Lawan, Tinubu, others present as Buhari flags off 1st oil exploration in North-East (Channels)
President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday flagged off the Kolmani Integrated Development Project in the North-East, the first of its kind in the zone.
Buhari said the oil exploration at the Kolmani River located between Gombe and Bauchi states has already attracted over $3m foreign direct investment and will boost Nigeria’s fortunes and earnings.
The event was attended by Senate President, Ahmad Lawan; the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu; Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Slyva; and the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, Mele Kyari;
Others include Governors Bala Mohammed (Bauchi), Inuwa Yahaya (Gombe), Simon Lalong (Plateau). The Group Managing Director of the New Nigeria Development Company, Shehu Mai-Borno, was also in attendance. Read more
Steven Spielberg to be honoured by Berlin Film Festival (Variety)
Steven Spielberg will be honoured by the 73rd Berlin International Film Festival with an homage and the fest’s honorary Golden Bear for lifetime achievement.
Spielberg’s latest film, “The Fablemans,” his semi-autobiographical look at growing up as a film-obsessed teenager in Arizona and Northern California, will also screen at the festival which runs Feb. 16-26, 2023. Universal Pictures Germany will release the film in German theaters in March.
“With an incredible career, Steven Spielberg has not only enchanted generations of viewers all over the world, but has also given a new meaning to ‘cinema’ as the factory of dreams,” said Berlinale director duo Mariette Rissenbeek and Carlo Chatrian, in a statement.
“Be it in the everlasting magic world of teenagers or in the reality that history has carved forever, his movies take us to a different level, where the big screen becomes the adequate surface for our emotions to be fulfilled. If Berlinale 2023 represents a new beginning we couldn’t find a better start than the one offered by Spielberg’s great work,” they added. Read more
Johnny Flynn and Mark Gatiss to play Richard Burton and John Giulgud in new play (Guardian)
Johnny Flynn is to play Richard Burton opposite Mark Gatiss as John Gielgud in a backstage drama about the theatrical titans’ Broadway production of Hamlet in the 1960s.
Written by Jack Thorne, The Motive and the Cue will be directed by Sam Mendes at the National Theatre in London in May. Tuppence Middleton will play Elizabeth Taylor who married Burton a month before Hamlet began its New York run in 1964.
Burton was nominated for a Tony award in the role of the tragic prince under Gielgud’s direction. Their Hamlet was presented as though it was the final run-through of rehearsals, with no period costumes or elaborate sets. The production, which was also filmed and shown in cinemas, was notable for contrasting the pair’s different approaches to the craft of acting.
The Motive and the Cue will be staged in the National’s Lyttelton theatre with a set design by Es Devlin. It is inspired by the memoir Letters from an Actor by William Redfield, who played Guildenstern opposite Burton, and by Richard L Sterne’s book John Gielgud Directs Richard Burton in Hamlet. Read more
James Winburn, stuntman for Michael Myers in ‘‘Halloween’’, has died (NME)
James Winburn, the stuntman who doubled as Michael Myers in scenes from John Carpenter’s original Halloween in 1978, has died.
As Entertainment Weekly reports, Winburn’s manager confirmed the stuntman died on November 19 following an undisclosed illness. He was 85 years old.
Winburn donned the iconic white mask in Halloween for scenes that actors Nick Castle or Tony Moran – who both portrayed Myers in the original film – were unable to do. This included a scene in the film in which Donald Pleasence’s Dr. Samuel Loomis shoots Myers six times, causing him to fall off a balcony before vanishing.
Though Halloween was arguably his best-known role, Winburn worked as a stunt actor on a wide array of films and TV episodes throughout his life, doubling for the likes of Stan Lee, David Hasselhoff, Peter O’Toole, Barry Bostwick and more. Read more
Justin Bieber says wife Hailey is ‘‘my favourite human’’ in touching birthday post (Standard)
Justin Bieber described his wife Hailey Bieber as “my favourite human being” as he wished her a happy 26th birthday.
The Sorry singer said the US model “made life magic” and that he was “obsessed with everything about you” in a touching Instagram post to mark the occasion.
The couple tied the knot in a secret ceremony in New York in 2018 when Justin was 24 and Hailey was 21.
They exchanged vows for a second time in South Carolina at the end of September 2019. Read more
Joss Stone is hoping to have a Christmas number 1 (MusicNews)
Joss Stone is hoping to have a Christmas number one.
The 35-year-old pop star – who shot to fame in her midteens when her second album ‘Mind, Body and Soul’ made her youngest female ever to top the UK Albums Chart – launched a comeback earlier this year with album ‘Never Forget My Love’ and is hoping her festive record ‘Merry Christmas, Love’ will take the top spot over the Yule period.
Asked how she felt about the possibility of taking the number one spot at Christmas, she said: “Wouldn’t that be nice? If I had one Christmas wish!”
Meanwhile, the ‘Right to Be Wrong’ hitmaker – who penned original song ‘Bring on Christmas Day’ for the album but also covers classics tracks such as ‘Let It Snow’ and ‘Silent Night’ – became a mum for the first time in January 2021 to Violet with boyfriend Cody DaLuz and gave birth to their second child just a month ago explained that while she was “elated” to be a parent at first, she soon became fearful that something bad would happen. Read more
Chris Brown mocks AMA’s ratings as producers explain axed Michael Jackson tribute (HipHopDX)
Chris Brown has mocked the American Music Awards’ ratings after his Michael Jackson tribute was canceled at the last minute.
Breezy took to his Instagram Stories on Monday (November 21) to share a news story that stated the 2022 AMAs saw a major dip in viewers compared to last year, while adding his own face palm emoji.
“In the latest TV ratings, ABC’s presentation of the American Music Awards on Sunday night averaged just 3.3 million total viewers and a 0.6 demo rating, down sharply from last year’s early numbers (3.8 mil/1.0) to mark all-time lows,” the article read.
Chris Brown then shared a screenshot of a video of him rehearsing for his axed MJ performance, with the Instagram clip boasting 11.7 million views at the time. “I’ll just leave this here,” he wrote. Read more
Mali govt bans aid groups receiving funds from France (ABC)
Mali’s government has announced a ban on aid groups that are funded by France, the latest attempt by the coup leader in charge to distance the West African country from its one-time colonizer and former ally in the fight against Islamic extremism.
In a statement read late Monday on national television, the government said the decision was effective immediately and would apply not only to French non-governmental organizations but also those receiving “material or technical support from France.”
The move immediately raised fears for the hundreds of thousands of Malians currently receiving aid. The number of banned organizations is not yet clear but is believed to affect dozens including many Malian associations. They include groups providing emergency food aid and medical services, as well as those helping with water supply and agricultural issues.
Sekou Ahmed Diallo, a member of a Malian collective of non-governmental organizations, said members would soon propose “a diplomatic solution” to the government. Read more
Saudi Arabia beats Messi’s Argentina 2-1 in World Cup stunner (ITV)
Lionel Messi’s Argentina squad was left reeling after Saudi Arabia snatched victory in one of the biggest World Cup upsets ever.
Saudi Arabia won 2-1 on Tuesday after netting two goals within five minutes in the second half.
The Gulf state had won only three of their previous 16 matches on the world stage and looked set for another defeat when Messi scored a 10th minute penalty.
The 35-year-old became only the fifth player to score at four World Cups, but this was not his or Argentina’s day as their 36-match unbeaten run came to a crashing end. Read more
Arsenal face Ajax, Monaco competition for Palmeiras wonderkid Danilo (ESPN)
Arsenal face competition from Ajax and Monaco for Palmeiras midfielder Danilo after the Brazilian club indicated they would be willing to accept around €24 million, sources have told ESPN.
Mikel Arteta’s side enquired about the 21-year-old in the summer but were told Palmeiras had no interest in selling while pursuing their 11th Brazilian Serie A title, which they then claimed at the beginning of the month with a 4-0 win over Fortaleza.
Sources have told ESPN that Palmeiras have since softened their stance, which has led Arsenal to revive their interest as they search for a central midfielder to strengthen their squad.
Palmeiras own 80% of the player’s rights and sources suggest they are seeking €20m for Danilo. His boyhood club Cajazeiras own the other 20% but there is said to be a confidence fee for their part could be negotiated, making the overall fee lower than €24m, depending on talks. Read more
Fernando Alonso teases Aston Martin masterplan after 1st test session (Express)
Fernando Alonso has hinted that Aston Martin will bring a whole new car to the table next season in a major blow to their midfield rivals. The Spaniard stressed the team’s current package is “not anywhere near” what is in the pipeline for 2023.
Alonso made the comments after his first run in an Aston Martin during today’s Abu Dhabi test session. The double world champion completed 97 laps in the morning session as he got his first taste of the team since switching from Alpine.
Alonso explained: “Next year, the car is going to be nearly new on everything. So there is not much point really to develop this idea much or anything like that. It was more about controls and other things. I was happily surprised with everything but this year’s car is not anywhere near what we will run next year.
“It was not really anything really to get confident or anything like that. It’s not like there’s going to be a continuation of this car or something like that.” Read more
Belgium forced to change World Cup kit just 2 days before opening game (DailyMail)
FIFA has rejected the Belgium team’s away strip because of the word ‘Love’ in the collar, a spokesperson for the Red Devils said on Monday.
The design of the shirt, which includes a rainbow-coloured trim, was inspired by the fireworks of Belgium’s famous music festival Tomorrowland and stands for diversity, equality and inclusivity.
However, Belgium spokesperson Stefan Van Loock said FIFA was rejecting the shirt not because of the colours, which are typically linked to LGBTQ+, but because of the commercial link to Tomorrowland.
The festival’s logo is incorporated in the ‘o’ of ‘Love’. Read more
Leona Maguire rises to new career high in world rankings (RTE)
Leona Maguire has risen to a new high of 11th in the Rolex Women’s Golf World Rankings after her runners-up finish in the CME Group Tour Championship in Florida at the weekend.
Maguire, who won her first LPGA event at the Drive On Championship in February, hailed her “best season so far” after another second place finish at the Tiburon Golf Club.
The Cavan golfer carded a stunning third round 63 on Saturday to tie the lead heading into the final round but a comparatively flat 72 on Sunday saw her finish two strokes shy of World No. 2 Lydia Ko.
Now, Maguire has jumped nine spots in the rankings to a career high of 11th. Read more
Max Verstappen fumes at Lewis Hamilton for breaching agreement (F1News)
Qualifying in Abu Dhabi was hectic, with high amounts of traffic in sector three causing bundles of problems for multiple drivers.
Sebastian Vettel was left fuming at his arcade game style ending to his flying lap in Q1, as he was forced to slalom five cars in the last two corners of the Yas Marina circuit, who were all creeping around the track before they began a fast lap of their own.
There is generally a gentleman’s agreement amongst drivers that when they bunch up and crawl around the final sector of a race track, charging the battery and prepping for a fast lap attempt, they will stick to their order.
The unwritten rule states that the drivers will not overtake each other or jump the queue, as the drivers are going slow deliberately to prepare for a lap, not to be overtaken. Read more