Author: Editor

THE Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Godwin Emefiele, has assured that no Nigerian will lose money under the Naira redesign project, adding that the project is in the overall interest of Nigerians and the economy. Emefiele gave the assurance during a meeting with the ad-hoc committee on the review of the Bank’s cashless policy and extension of the timeframe of the currency swap programme of the Bank on Tuesday, January 31, 2023. He added that subject to the provision of Section 20(3) of the CBN Act, Nigerians would be given the opportunity to redeem the face…

A VISITATION team from the National Universities Commission (NUC) has paid a Resource Verification visit to the Franco-British International University, Kaduna. The team which was under the leadership of Deputy Director, Master Plan and Infrastructure Dr. Mustapha Rasheed, arrived Kaduna on Saturday, 28th January, 2023, to assess the facilities put in place at the proposed University. The facilities the team visited include lecture halls and theatres, laboratories, library, staff offices as well as students’ hostels and staff quarters. The visitation team was received on arrival by the Promoter and Proprietor of the University, Prof. Adamu Abubakar Gwarzo and the Planning…

THE Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has confirmed the death of 37 persons from Lassa Fever in the first three weeks of 2023. In its Lassa Fever Situation Report published on Tuesday, the centre noted that the number of deaths represents 15.1 percent of the 244 confirmed cases in 16 states across 50 local government areas (LGAs). According to the NCDC, for week three, 18 deaths (13.1 percent) were recorded out of 137 confirmed cases in 37 LGAs of 14 states. “Seventy-nine (79%) of all confirmed Lassa fever cases were reported from these three states (Ondo, Edo…

THE presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu, says he rescued former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar from his erstwhile principal, former President Olusegun Obasanjo. For over a decade since leaving office in 2007, Atiku, who is also the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate in the forthcoming election, was at loggerheads with the former president. Obasanjo however put aside his differences to endorse his two-term deputy in the 2019 presidential election. This however changed in 2023 when the Ogun-born statesman threw his weight behind Labour Party’s Peter Obi. While campaigning in Uyo, Akwa Ibom on Monday, Tinubu took…

SUSPECTED members of the Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP) members have distributed huge amounts of old notes to scores of commuters in the Lake Chad Basin ahead of the deadline of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) cashless policy, sources have said. Our correspondent gathered that the incident occurred after Mairari village, along the Maiduguri/Monguno highway on Saturday in Guzamala LGA of Borno State. A source told the Daily Trust in Maiduguri that the ISWAP members were dressed in military camouflage and drove two gun trucks. A resident, Bakura Ibrahim, said the insurgents positioned themselves under a tree…

NO fewer than 79 persons have committed suicide in Nigeria in 2022. Findings reviewed by our correspondent showed that the 79 persons comprised 70 males and 9 females within the period. The figure does not include the number of cases of suicide that have not been reported in the media. The breakdown showed that Lagos ranked highest with 12 suicide cases; followed by Oyo; 10; Kano, four; Anambra three; Edo, three; Delta, three; Ogun, three; and Rivers, three. Borno, Bayelsa, Abia, Benue, FCT, Imo, Enugu, Niger, Jos, Jigawa, Kaduna and Kwara had two cases each. Others such as Ondo, Osun,…

PREMIER League Manchester City will go to Championship side Bristol City in the FA Cup fifth round. Five of the eight ties are subject to a replay, including the winner of non-league Wrexham and Sheffield United landing a home meeting with Tottenham. Manchester United will host West Ham after they beat League One Derby County 2-0 on Monday night. If Luton Town beat Grimsby Town they will face their former manager Nathan Jones’ Southampton. At least one English Football League team will be in the quarter-finals with Ipswich Town or Burnley drawn at home to Sheffield Wednesday or Fleetwood Town.…

VALENCIA manager Gennaro Gattuso has left the La Liga club after just seven months in charge at the Mestalla. Former AC Milan and Napoli boss Gattuso, 45, signed a two-year deal when he was unveiled last summer. But Valencia have lost eight of his 18 league matches in charge and sit 14th, just a point above the bottom three, after Sunday’s loss at Real Valladolid. Valencia said former Italy midfielder Gattuso’s departure had been “decided by mutual agreement”. His exit leaves Los Ches searching for a fifth manager in less than three years. Valencia stalwart Voro Gonzalez will take charge…

US President Joe Biden has ruled out sending F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, despite renewed calls from Ukrainian officials for air support. Asked by a reporter on Monday if the US would be providing the planes, Mr Biden replied simply “no”. His comment comes a day after Germany’s leader also ruled out sending fighter jets. Ukraine has said it needs the jets to take control of its airspace in its ongoing war with Russia. F-16 Fighting Falcons are widely considered one of the world’s most reliable fighter jets and are used by other countries, such as Belgium and Pakistan. They…

THE death toll has risen to at least 87 people after a mosque suicide bombing which targeted policemen in the Pakistan province of Peshawar. The mosque is within a high-security police headquarters area and a probe is under way into how the bomber got in. Pakistan’s PM and other leaders have condemned the attack – one of the worst in the country in recent years. The Pakistani Taliban has denied involvement after an initial claim by one of its commanders. “Terrorists want to create fear by targeting those who perform the duty of defending Pakistan,” said PM Shehbaz Sharif. On…

THE police officer who left his rifle in a commercial vehicle after allegedly collecting a GH¢100 bribe from the driver has been interdicted. Inspector Sulemana Adam with the Rapid Deployment Force (RDF) was interdicted and referred to the Police Professional Standards Bureau (PPSB). The move, according to the police, is “to allow for a thorough investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident”. A press release issued by the Western Regional Command of the Ghana Police Service on Saturday, January 28 said the police inspector and the driver will both assist in investigations. The driver had narrated on Connect FM‘s morning…

LIBERIA’S President, George Weah, has announced that he is standing for re-election. In his annual state of the nation address, Mr Weah said he would be calling on Liberians to renew for a second time the mandate they gave him six years ago. Elections are scheduled for October. Mr Weah has been accused of economic mismanagement during his time in office. Last year, the United States imposed sanctions on a number of senior Liberian officials over corruption allegations, including Mr Weah’s chief of staff.

LEADERSHIP Correspondent in Kogi State, Mr Sam Egwu is dead. The veteran journalist died in his Lokoja residence on Sunday evening at the age of 68. Family sources said Egwu was still active until a few hours before his death. The sources said the deceased was at the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC’s) office in Lokoja to monitor the distribution of the permanent voter cards (PVcs) and returned to his house at 2pm. Egwu reportedly died after a few hours while sitting in front of his house. Born in 1955, the late Egwu attended St. Charles College, Ankpa and proceeded…

POLICE in Brazil are searching for one of Rio’s most dangerous drug lords, Jean Carlos dos Santos, after he broke out of jail with two fellow inmates. The three escaped from Bangu prison by tying bed-sheets together and lowering themselves from a prison window to a rubbish dump. Jean Carlos dos Santos, 37, is notorious for having had his lawyer killed after the latter failed to get two gang members released. He had been in prison since 2017. Jean Carlos dos Santos, also known as Jean do Morro do 18, controlled much of the drug trafficking in the Morro do…

THE Kremlin has denied former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s claim that Russian President Vladimir Putin threatened him with a missile strike. The two were on a “very long” and “extraordinary” call in early February of last year before Russia invaded Ukraine, when Putin supposedly issued the threat, though he also conceded it could’ve been a joke. “It’s a lie, there were no threats of missiles,” he told reporters during a press briefing. “Speaking about challenges to the security of the Russian Federation, President Putin noted that if Ukraine joined NATO, the potential deployment of NATO or American missiles near…

MANCHESTER City defender Joao Cancelo is in line to join German champions Bayern Munich before Tuesday’s transfer deadline. A deal for the Portugal full-back is still to be completed but the proposal is for an initial loan with a 70m euro (£61.5m) option to buy in the summer. The 28-year-old signed for City from Juventus in 2019 and has made 98 Premier League appearances. He has won two league titles and the EFL Cup under Pep Guardiola. Cancelo had previously been viewed as one of the key players in Guardiola’s squad due to his ability to drift inside and act…

CHELSEA have bid 120m euros (£105.6m) for Benfica’s Argentina midfielder Enzo Fernandez in a move that would make him the British transfer record signing. So far there is no indication whether the Blues’ offer, thought to include instalments, will be accepted. But if the deal goes through, it would eclipse the £100m Manchester City paid Aston Villa for Jack Grealish in 2021. Fernandez was named young player of the tournament during Argentina’s World Cup triumph in Qatar. Benfica have previously accused Chelsea of trying to unsettle the midfielder, with the Portuguese side’s manager Roger Schmidt declaring their pursuit “closed”. However,…

THE Supreme Court of Nigeria has affirmed Senator Adamu Aliero as the Peoples Democratic Party’s candidate for Kebbi Central Senatorial District in the forthcoming general election. In a lead judgment by Justice Centus Nweze which was read by Justice Amina Augie on Monday, the apex court held that Aliero’s appeal was allowed and declared that “the judgment of the lower court, which declared Saidu Haruna as the winner of the Kebbi Central Senatorial District primary is hereby set aside.” However, while four justices on the panel unanimously agreed with the lead judgment, Justice Emmanuel Agim disagreed. The judgment followed an…

EVERTON have named Sean Dyche as their new manager on a two-and-a-half-year contract until June 2025. The Toffees sacked Frank Lampard last week with the club 19th in the Premier League and two points from safety. Dyche, 51, had been out of work since he was dismissed by Burnley last April after almost 10 years at the Clarets. He is Everton majority owner Farhad Moshiri’s seventh managerial appointment since buying into the club in February 2016. Dyche, whose first game in charge will be at home against league leaders Arsenal in the top flight on 4 February, said in a…

FORMER Kenyan Prime Minister, Raila Amolo Odinga, has just arrived the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja on Monday, January 30, 2023, ahead of the 14th edition of annual LEADERSHIP Conference and Awards slated for Tuesday, January 31. Odinga will be the keynote speaker at the epock-making event to be chaired by Nigeria’s Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo. The veteran Kenyan politician and his entourage arrived at about 12:10pm Nigerian time and were received by top management staff of LEADERSHIP Newspapers Group alongside officials of the Federal Government of Nigeria. Odinga was accompanied by Hon. Godffrey Osotsi, Prof Makau Mutua and…