Author: Khadijah Olowode

By Abimbola Ogunnaike Ajax Football of Holland have confirmed that its former goal keeper and Manchester United of England icon, Edwin Van Der Sar suffered brain haemorrhage while on holiday in Croatia and he is currently admitted in an hospital in the country. The club in a statement issued on Friday, 17 July, 2023 said the 52-year-old Dutchman was flown to hospital by helicopter on Friday, 7 July, 2023 but remains in a stable condition It read: “On Friday, Edwin van der Sar had a bleeding around his brain. He’s currently in hospital in the intensive care unit and is…

By Abimbola Ogunnaike At least 12 petroleum marketers in Kogi State have been arrested by the operatives of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) for allegedly removing the closure seal of Nigeria Mainstream Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, (NMDPRA) and embarked on the sale of the product. Recall that last month,the NMDPRA sealed 50 out of 90 fuel stations operating in the state over offenses ranging from expired licenses and under-dispensing of product, among others. The Kogi Command of the NSCDC in collaboration with the surveillance team of NMDPRA made the arrest across the state on Friday, 7 July,…

By Abimbola Ogunnaike The MTN Group has disclosed that it will invest $3.5 billion in the Nigerian economy over the next five years. The company made this disclosure during a meeting with President Bola Tinubu at the State House, Abuja on Friday, 7 July, 2023. This is contained in statement issued by Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Special Duties, Communications, and Strategy, Dele Alake. According to Alake, the delegation of the company to the meeting was led by its Group Chairman, Mcebisi Jonas accompanied by the Group President/CEO of MTN, Ralph Mupita, Chairman of MTN Nigeria, Ernest Ndukwe and Chief Executive…

By Abimbola Ogunnaike A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos on Friday, 7 July, 2023, has ordered the remand of a Ponzi scheme operator, Bamise Ajetunmobi, who fled the country in 2021, over an alleged N7.5 billion fraud. Justice Chukwuejekwu Aneke made the order after Bamise was brought before the court and arraigned on a 12-count charge made against him by the men of Force Criminal Investigation Department Force CID (Annex) Alagbon-Ikoyi, Lagos. The defendant pleaded not guilty. At the arraignment, the prosecution counsel, Morufu Animashaun, a legal officer in the Force CIID, annex, Alagbon, Ikoyi, told the court that…

After his successful participation at the summit on “A New Global Financing Pact” in Paris, France hosted by President Emmanuel Macron, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has arrived Bissau, capital of Republic of Guinea-Bissau, for the 63rd Ordinary Session of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). President Tinubu also used the opportunity of the summit to visit the Nigerian contingent stationed in the country under the ECOWAS Stabilisation Force. The 63rd Ordinary Session summit, which will open on Sunday, 9 July, 2023, will be the first international engagement of the…

By Abimbola Ogunnaike The Federal Ministry of Works and Housing has fixed the first quarter of 2024 to complete the reconstruction work on the Abuja-Kaduna-Kano highway The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Mahmuda Mamman, made this disclosure on Friday, July 7, 2023 during an inspection of the road and other ongoing federal road projects in Kaduna State. Mamman took a tour of the 375.9 km of the dual carriageway way beginning from the Abuja end through Kaduna to Zaria and extending further to Kano all in the North-West zone. During the inspection tour, the Permanent Secretary attributed the late completion…

By Abimbola Ogunnaike The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has congratulated Miss Kamyosikwu Chinyere Uche for emerging as the best scorer in the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) with 360, just as it also reprimanded Mmesoma Ejikeme for falsifying UTME result, thegazellenews.com reports. JAMB gave the congratulatory message in a statement signed by its Head of Media and Publicity, Dr Fabian Benjamin on Saturday,8 July, 2023 following the report of the panel set up by the Anambra State Government on Mmesoma Ejikeme’s falsified UTME result. The examination agency, however, vowed not to relent in its efforts to expose examination malpractice in the…

By Abimbola Ogunnaike The Captain of the Super Falcons of Nigeria, Onome Ebi has denied media reports that the nine-time African champions are threatening to boycott their FIFA Women’s World Cup opening game against Canada in Melbourne on Friday, 21 July, thegazellenews.com reports. “I have no idea where that (boycott) is coming from. We (the players) never had any such conversations as regards that; we are good with training and ready for the World Cup,” Ebi told thenff.com at the team’s training camp in Gold Coast, Australia on Saturday, 8 July, 2023.. The defender, who is featuring in her sixth FIFA World Cup finals, added…

By Abimbola Ogunnaike Romanus Ejikeme, father of embattled Anambra student, Mmesoma Ejikeme, who recently confessed to the forgery of the result of her 2023 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination has pleaded with the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) and Nigerians at large to forgive his daughter, saying his daughter didn’t confess her “crime” to him on time. Speaking in an interview with the Nigeria Television Authority, Ejikeme said, “My daughter didn’t open up to me on time. When I realised the mistake she did, I blamed her a lot but I’m still apologising to JAMB and Nigerians to pardon her.”…

By Abimbola Ogunnaike After 12 years in Old Trafford, Manchester United goalkeeper, David de Gea, on Saturday, 8 July, 2023, announced his exit from the club, thegazellenews.com reports. De Gea made this known via his Twitter handle saying “It’s the right time to undertake a new challenge.” The long-serving Spanish goalkeeper, who won the Premier League Golden Glove award for most clean sheets last season, was criticised for a number of high-profile errors in the final weeks of the campaign with the club He, however, appreciated fans of the club for their support “I just wanted to send this farewell…

By Abimbola Ogunnaike A Lagos High Court on Friday, 7 July, 2023 rejected the bail application of the staff bus driver, Oluwaseun Osibanjo, whose role in the March 9, 2023 collision with a moving train led to the death of no fewer than six people with many others injured, the gazellenews.com reports. In her ruling on the bail application, Justice Oyindamola Ogala held that Osibanjo’s health was stable after he had spent seven weeks in the Intensive Care Unit and had been discharged to face his trial. Justice Ogala also ruled that the defendant could continue to receive medical care…

By Abimbola Ogunnaike Roc Nation Sports International (RNSI), owned by American billionaire hip-hop mogul Jay-Z, has completed the acquisition of Brazilian football agency, TFM Agency. The acquisition, it was gathered, was part of RNSI’s expansion into the South American football market. TFM Agency is home to global football stars including Vinicius Jr, Gabriel Martinelli, and Endrick. With the acquisition, the agency has been renamed Roc Nation Sports Brazil, with headquarters in Sao Paulo. TFM founder, Frederico Pena was also appointed head of Roc Nation Sports Brazil.

By Abimbola Ogunnaike The Nigerian automobile manufacturer, Innoson Automobile Company has withdrawn the scholarship offered to Mmesoma Ejikeme. This came following the report by the Commission of Inquiry established by the Anambra State Government confirming Ejikeme manipulated her Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination result. This was made known by the Head of Corporate Communications and Affairs, Innoson Group, Cornel Osigwe, on Saturday, 8 July, 2023. Recall that the eight-page report of the panel also recommended that Mmesoma immediately tender an unreserved written apology to the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board, the school (Anglican Girls’ Secondary School, Uruagu Nnewi), and the state…

Given the early release of the 2024 calendar of events by the Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah, the Independent Hajj Reporters (IHR), a civil society organization that monitors Hajj and Umrah activities in Nigeria and Saudi Arabia, has advised the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) to begin the registration of intending 2024 Hajj pilgrims immediately. The organisation advised in a statement signed by its National Coordinator, Malam Ibrahim Mohammed, today in Makkah. IHR noted that the announcement of the 2024 calendar of events less than a week after the 2023 Hajj period has created a new Hajj operating…

The Federal Government has taken its waste to wealth programme to the grassroots, promising to segregate waste to wealth in Kuchingoro community, a suburb in Abuja. Speaking during this year’s National Environmental Sanitation Day commemorated on Saturday, 8 July, 2023, at Kuchingoro, the Director, Pollution Control and Environmental Health, Mr Usman Abdullahi, who represented the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Environment, Mallam Ibrahim Yusufu said the ministry would enlighten the community on waste segregation. He said: “You can convert that waste to wealth where you separate your plastics and biodegradables. “These biodegradables can be converted to compost and these…

The Group President and CEO of MTN, Ralph Mupita, alongside board members and leadership of MTN Group and MTN Nigeria recently met with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in a courtesy visit. The team extended their congratulations to President Tinubu on his election victory, reiterated MTN’s commitment to Nigeria and outlined the company’s strategy for expanding connectivity across the country, diversifying digital services available to Nigerians and supporting the rapid growth of Nigeria’s digital economy. Speaking on the importance of partnerships and his excitement at partnering with MTN on technological advancements, the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Bola Ahmed…

In what can be considered a major academic milestone in the Lagos State University, the National Universities Commission (NUC) has approved the commencement of 20 new programmes at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels of the University. The 20 programmes approved equals a 100% of the programmes submitted by the University for resource verification by the regulatory Body, a feat unprecedented in the University’s history. The newly approved programmes are: B.Sc. Architecture, B.Sc. Building, B.Sc. Estate Management, B.Sc. Environmental Management, B.Sc. Industrial Design, B.Sc. Survey and Geo-Informatics, B.Sc. Quantity Surveying, B.Sc. Urban and Regional Planning, B.A. Fine Arts, B.LIS. Library and…

The Federal Government is planning big on revenue from evolving a policy on minimization of carbon emission in the country, issuing a strong warning to carbon emission reduction traders to adhere to all rules guiding the trade or face the wrath of the law. The warning was issued by the Director-General, National Council on Climate Change (a Federal Government agency), Salisu Dahiru at a validation workshop for the assessment of carbon pricing initiative in Nigeria held in Abuja on Wednesday Dahiru asked traders who were trading without recourse to designated authority to desist from such activity immediately. Carbon trade is…

Sixty-five Nigerians sponsored by the CCECC Nigeria Limited to study at Chinese universities have returned to the country after graduation to contribute to the development of the transport sector. The programme is a joint effort between CCECC Nigeria Limited, and two Chinese ivory tower, Central South University and Chang’an University. The latest graduates make it 197 Nigerians that have benefitted from the sponsorship that commenced few years back. Among the returned 65 students are 49 undergraduates and 16 postgraduates, majoring in Civil Engineering, Transportation Engineering, and Road, Bridge, and River-crossing Engineering, amongst others. They were received at a colourful ceremony…

The Federal Government has cautioned Nigerians to refrain from dumping waste indiscriminately and to promote good hygiene practices in order to arrest the ravaging flood. The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) had recently raised an alarm that 14 states and 31 communities across the country may witness heavy rainfall that may lead to flooding between July 4 and 8. There have also been instances of flooding in some part of the country so far The Ministry of Environment has also promised to immediately commence sensitization of residents of the federal capital territory (FCT) on the need to curb indiscriminate dumping…