Yuletide: Petroleum Authority Vows Clampdown On Hoarders (DailyTrust)
The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) has assured of fuel availability during the yuletide, warning that it will clamp down on petrol stations hoarding fuel to create artificial scarcity.
Controller of NMDPRA in Jos, Plateau State, Abdulsalam Mohammed, said the agency had taken measures to ensure petrol stations did the right thing, especially this festive season, to ensure smooth transportation.
He explained that a smooth petroleum delivery and dispensation process would not only ensure transportation ease but would also lead to safe motoring and reduction of suffering.
Mohammed pointed out that the issue of fuel hoarding would be squarely tackled, adding that petrol stations/marketers were strictly being monitored to comply with best practices. Read more
Lagos seals off Quilox over noise pollution (Punch)
The Lagos State Government has shut down the popular nightclub, Quilox, at Ozumba Nbadiwe Road, Victoria Island area of the state.
The government, through its Environmental Protection Agency, shut down the club on Saturday over non-compliance to LASEPA’s directive and organising events without obtaining a sound control permit.
Confirming the seal-off exercise, LASEPA General Manager, Dr. Dolapo Fasawe, said that the measure became necessary following several distress calls with video evidence (s) received from concerned neighbors.
“To avert a situation like this, we recently held a stakeholder’s parley with the Owners/ Chief Executive Officers of nightclubs in the state to address the issue of noise pollution during the festive period. Read more
Supplementary budget will raise deficit, crowd out private sector –LCCI (Sun)
The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has said that approving the Federal Government request for a supplementary budget will raise the budget deficit for 2022 from N10.78 trillion to N11.6 trillion, about 4.43 percent deficit to GDP ratio.
President Muhammad Buhari had asked the National Assembly to approve a supplementary budget of N819 billion, which he intends to use to finance infrastructure projects across the country.
But reacting to the request, the Director-General of the chamber, Dr. Chinyere Almona, said the implications of the massive borrowing by the government to the economy include crowding out credit to the private sector, increasing the cost of debt servicing and making the economy more vulnerable to unforeseeable shocks in an election year.
The chambers noted that the unprecedented damage inflicted on some of our infrastructure due to flooding in most parts of the country require urgent financing action by the government and expects the supplementary budget to be used totally to repair damaged infrastructure, calling on government to invest more in building infrastructure to prevent future disasters. Read more
NSCDC deploys over 2000 to beef up security in Lagos (Vanguard)
The Nigeria Securities and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) Lagos State Command, says over 2000 of its personnel are deployed in the state to ensure security and safety during the festive period.
The NSCDC Commandant in Lagos state, Mr Okoro Eweka disclosed this to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) during a patrol to some of the facilities guarded by the personnel in the state.
“About 2,470 officers and men are currently overseeing strategic and tactical locations, points, beats, relaxation spots, recreational parks, markets, worship centres ( churches ), religious gatherings, right of ways,
“Other places include critical national assets and infrastructure, belonging to the Federal, state and local governments areas amidst other very important places, without neglecting the remote and coastal areas of the state.” Read more
Police rescue 4 kidnapped victims in Enugu (Independent)
Enugu State Police Command on Sunday rescued 4 kidnapped victims kidnapped along Eke/Akama road in the state
The police spokesman of the state command, Daniel Ndukwe said the victims were kidnapped on the 23rd of December 2022.
He said “Operatives serving in Iwollo Division of the Enugu State Command, in synergy with Neighborhood Watch personnel and Forest Guards have rescued 3 males and 1 female victim, reported to have been kidnapped along 9th-Mile/Eke/Akama-Oghe Road, on 23/12/2022 at about 8 pm.
“They also recovered a black-coloured Mercedes Benz car belonging to one of the victims, while all the victims have been debriefed and reunited with their families.” Read more
Christmas tragedy: Man in police net for killing, dumping lady’s corpse in toilet (Vanguard)
There was pandemonium at Ikot Offiong Ambai Community, in Akpabuyo Local government area, of Cross River state in the early hours of Christmas day following the discovery of the body of one Miss Harmony Edemawan who was allegedly kidnapped, killed and dumped inside a septic tank.
The Anti Cultism and Kidnapping Squad, ACKS, a tactical Unit of the Cross River state Police Command while investigating a reported case of kidnapping arrested a 49-year-old man, Eyo Etim Bassey who turned out to be the suspect for allegedly masterminding the killing of Miss Harmony Edemawan over a debt owed her by the suspect.
Findings showed that the ACKS ( Dragon squad) led by, SP Ogini Chukwuma swung into action based report of the Victim’s kidnap from her residence on Thursday, 22nd of December at Ikot Offiong Ambai in Akpabuyo LGA of Cross River state.
Vanguard further learned that based on credible intelligence using undercover agents, Dragon Squad arrested the suspect, Mr Eyo Etim Bassey who allegedly abducted the victim, killed her and dumped her corpse inside a septic tank on Thursday. Read more
Police arrest suspected gun supplier, recover 344 ammunition in Kaduna (Independent)
The Kaduna State Police Command on Sunday said it arrested suspected gun suppliers on motorcycles and recovered 344 rounds of ammunition from them.
A statement by the Command’s Public Relations Officer, DSC Mohammed Jalige in Kaduna on Sunday said operatives in Tudun Wada Zaria, during surveillance patrol at Kwarkwaron Manu, Basawa area of Zaria, intercepted two men on an unregistered motorcycle with bags concealed in a suspicious manner on the motorcycle.
According to him, one of the suspects fled when police officers stopped them for a routine check.
The motorcycle rider was subsequently searched and this led to the discovery of AK47 rifles, 344 rounds of 7.62mm live ammunition, 10 mobile phones and charms. Read more
Ikpeazu sacks Abia council chairmen, deputies, councilors (Nation)
The governor of Abia State, Dr Okezie Ikpeazu has dissolved all the elected officers serving across the 17 local government areas of the state.
Those affected were the 17 local government chairmen, their deputies and councilors.
Our correspondent reports that the dissolution of the serving officers came on the heels of the two years expiration of their term in office.
They were asked to hand over local government properties in their custody. Read more
Gwen Stefani shares a magical video after teasing a big announcement (Hello!)
Gwen Stefani has shared a magical video with her fans to celebrate the festive season. The singer, who is married to fellow musician and The Voice star Blake Shelton, took to Instagram to post the heartwarming clip showing how their family is celebrating the holidays.
The video begins with a lovely photo of the husband and wife smiling for the camera as they took a walk through the forest. The pair were both rocking neutral tones with Blake wearing a camouflage jacket while Gwen opted for a beige zip-up complete with a cozy beanie hat.
The video then included clips of their wintery hike with the dog, as they trekked through the gorgeous countryside in the sunshine, stopping to pose for selfies and a kiss. How sweet!
Gwen captioned the video, which also featured her festive track Christmas Eve: “My [heart] is so full rn [right now]. Merry Christmas Eve everyone,” followed by a Christmas tree emoji. Read more
Lil B drops surprise Jazz album Afrikantis for Christmas (HipHopDX)
Lil B has surprised fans this Christmas with a brand new album, but instead of being a Hip Hop release The Based God has stepped into the world of jazz.
On Thursday (December 22), the California rapper took to Twitter to announce the release of Afrikantis, a 14-track instrumental release that he claimed might be “one of the most important jazz projects ever.”
“< Artist Note From Lil B > ‘ They said that no idea is original, That was a lie. Welcome To Afrikantis,” he tweeted. “Lil B THIS MAY BE ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT JAZZ PROJECTS EVER … TAKE UR TIME WITH THIS.”
Afrikantis is the latest project to be added to Lil B’s lengthy discography, and it’s his fourth full-length release of 2022. Both Frozen and The Frozen Tape arrived simultaneously in June, and Thraxxx Kiss followed in late August. Read more
Danny Dyer exits EastEnders in tragic Christmas Day episode (BelfastTelegraph)
Danny Dyer has departed EastEnders in tragic scenes that saw his character Mick Carter killed off in the English Channel in an attempt to save the love of his life following their brief reunion.
The actor, 45, has left the BBC One soap after almost a decade, having joined the cast on Christmas Day in 2013, shortly followed by his on-screen wife Linda Carter played by Kellie Bright.
The dramatic hour-long Christmas Day episode did not disappoint viewers, with Janine Butcher’s web of lies unravelling during a family Christmas Day dinner driving her newly-wed husband Mick into the arms of his former wife Linda.
In the romantic scenes, Mick said: “It’s you. It’s always been you. I’ve known it all along, deep down I just couldn’t face it. It was easier to pretend, to look away. Read more
Avatar: The Way of Water sails in Christmas box office, Brad Pitt’s Babylon hits rough water (USAToday)
Avatar: The Way of Water sailed to the top of the box office in its second weekend, bringing in what studios estimate Sunday will be a strong $56 million in North America — a sign that the sequel may stay afloat into the new year and approach the massive expectations that met its release.
James Cameron’s digital extravaganza for 20th Century Studios has made $253.7 million domestically in its first 10 days of release, compared to $212.7 million in the same stretch for 2009′s first “Avatar,” which would go on to become the highest-grossing film of all time.
While Cameron’s films like the “Avatar” original and “Titanic” tend to have serious legs at the box office, sequels tend to open big and decline quickly, complicating guesses on where the film will end up. Its second-weekend drop-off from the $134 million it made in its first was not precipitous, given the way blockbusters open.
“This is James Cameron’s first $100 million opener,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for Comscore “For this movie to have opened that big and only dropped 58%, it shows it has staying power.” Read more
Tom Parker’s widow offers comfort for anyone missing a loved one at Christmas (Standard)
Kelsey Parker has thanked everybody who supported her this year following the death of her husband Tom Parker as she urged those who are missing someone this Christmas to be “kind” to themselves.
The Wanted singer died in March age 33 after being diagnosed with a brain tumour.
On Christmas Day, Kelsey, 32, shared festive photos on Instagram of her with their two young children and a message offering support on how to survive “holiday grief”.
She wrote: “Merry Christmas everyone. Thank you to everyone who has commented and sent messages this year. I do read them all and having so much support really means the world. Read more
“How Anne went to Japan”: P.E.I.’s Confederation Centre looks to create new work (CBC)
Charlottetown’s Confederation Centre of the Arts is hoping to create a new piece of theatre involving the character of Anne Shirley.
It won’t be an adaptation of one of L.M. Montgomery’s novels, though. It will be based on a biography of the woman who translated Anne of Green Gables into Japanese about eight decades ago.
“In the discovery of reading this book, Anne’s Cradle, we found the source for what we believe would be an amazing piece of collaborative theatre between two countries,” said the centre’s artistic director, Adam Brazier.
Anne’s Cradle is the story of Hanako Muraoka. It was written by her granddaughter Eri Muraoka and published in English in 2021 with a translation by Cathy Hirano. Read more
Dubai has opened its very first NFT shop in the Mall of Emirates (LuxuryLaunches)
NFT has been the buzzword for 2022. For those still unversed, it stands for non-fungible token and is nothing but a digitized piece of art or memorabilia that is recorded in a blockchain and provides exclusive ownership. And to create further hype around it, Dubai has opened its first-ever physical NFT store lately!
Located in the Mall of Emirates, it will be operated by international tech giant SoftConstruct and will offer patrons a chance to browse, buy and sell NFTs in person. As per the company, visitors will also be able to interact with and look through a unique variety of physical art and even create 3D avatars of themselves through a professional 3D scanner.
The store’s opening that recently took place saw the presence of several NFT artists and exhibitors such as Amrita Sethi, the first NFT artist in the UAE, and more. The shop will also exhibit a wide array of collectibles such as that of AKNEYE, a number of hand-painted and unique eye sculptures, alongside the exclusive art toys by Chiko & Roko, and more. Opened on December 22, 2022, the ftNFT Shop, as it is called is in for big success in the future. Read more
Osimhen: I don’t think about racism, I focus on goals scoring (Sun)
Napoli forward Victor Osimhen has revealed that he intentionally keeps the information about his daughter and his girlfriend away from the prying eyes of the public.
Aggressive, fearless, and ruthless on the football pitch, Osimhen is arguably even more active on social media.
The Super Eagles striker often uses Twitter and Instagram to connect with his fans, share titbits about his past, share memes on several issues, and post images of himself on and off the pitch.
Still, the Nigerian goal-poacher has never shared any picture of his daughter since she was born in October. It was only recently that he revealed her name – Haly – but the picture of the young girl and her mother remains some of the rarest things on social media. Read more
Peter Crouch set to release a new Amazon Prime documentary on his football career (DailyMail)
He’s known for his impressive football career, playing as a striker for over 14 teams, including representing England in the FIFA World Cup.
And Peter Crouch is reportedly now set to make a documentary on his impressive career as he is thought to have teamed up with Amazon Prime.
The sportsman and TV personality, 41, has allegedly signed a major deal with the streaming service to release a documentary next year.
According to The Sun, the new release will document Peter’s varied career, which spans over 20 years. Read more
Kevin Payne, former executive for 2 Major League Soccer teams, dies (USAToday)
Kevin Payne, who was an executive with two Major League Soccer teams and was elected to the National Soccer Hall of Fame in 2021, died Sunday. He was 69.
U.S. Soccer, MLS and D.C. United, which won four MLS titles and two U.S. Open Cups during Payne’s tenure, put out statements confirming his death. The Washington Post reported that Payne died in Charleston, South Carolina, from a lung illness.
“He will always be remembered as a dedicated champion of our club, MLS, our community and soccer in the U.S.,” D.C. United’s statement said.
Payne was president and general manager of D.C. United from 1994-2001 and then president and CEO of the team from 2004-2012. He also was president of Toronto FC from 2012-13, a member of the MLS Board of Governors for 18 years and the executive director and CEO of US Club Soccer from 2015-2021. Read more
Basketball stands partly collapse in Egypt, injuring 27 (ESPN)
At least 27 people were injured when stands partly collapsed Saturday during a basketball game in the Egyptian capital of Cairo, health authorities said.
Officials said part of the seats fell on spectators at the Super Cup match between Cairo’s Al Ahly and Ittihad of Alexandria following a stampede in the stands.
The game at the Hassan Moustafa Sports Hall in Cairo’s 6th of October district was called off following the incident, according to local media.
Health Ministry spokesman Hossam Abdel-Ghaffar said in a statement that most of the injured suffered broken bones. He said they were taken to hospitals and their injuries were not life-threatening. Read more
UFC Hall of Famer Stephan Bonnar dies at age 45 (ESPN)
Stephan Bonnar, who helped launch the UFC into the mainstream with his fight against Forrest Griffin in the finals of the first season of “The Ultimate Fighter” reality show, died at age 45, the promotion announced Saturday.
Bonnar died of presumed heart complications while at work, according to the UFC.
Bonnar and Griffin were both inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame in 2013. Their knockdown, drag-out fight on April 9, 2005, is regarded as one of the most important fights in the history of the promotion. “The Ultimate Fighter” reality series and that fight in particular were critical to landing and keeping the UFC on cable.
The drama of Griffin vs. Bonnar, with both men digging deep in a bloody brawl, has long been an example of what the sport of MMA can be, allowing it to form its own identity separate from other combat sports such as boxing. Griffin won the fight via unanimous decision to earn a six-figure UFC contract. But the fight was so good that UFC president Dana White awarded Bonnar a contract, as well. Read more
Jackie Stewart demands F1 bosses make change after Lewis Hamilton comments (Express)
Jackie Stewart has called on F1 bosses to give more power to the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association weeks after similar comments from Lewis Hamilton. The three-time world champion said the GPDA should “have more influence” over decisions surrounding the sport.
He stressed the body was “much more powerful” when he was chairman of the organisation. Speaking exclusively to Express Sport, he said: “I was the President of the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association, when the GPDA was much more powerful than it is today by the way.
“I think that’s wrong. I think we should have more influence.” The GPDA was founded in 1961 in a bid to improve safety standards in the sport.
The organisation wielded staggering power and was key in dictating the terms the sport followed. The GPDA was famous for boycotts of several events including the 1969 Belgian Grand Prix and the 1970 German Grand Prix. Read more