Author: David Great

US President, Joe Biden, signed a funding bill on Saturday, averting a Christmas-time government shutdown after negotiations in Congress went down to the wire overnight. Last-minute legislative wrangling was brought about by incoming president Donald Trump, who along with influential billionaire Elon Musk, pressured Republicans to abandon an earlier bipartisan funding compromise. Lawmakers then spent several days trying to hammer out another deal, with massive halts to government services hanging in the balance. With the Friday midnight deadline already expired by minutes, senators dropped normal procedure to fast-track the new package to a vote, funding the government to mid-March. “This…

Let us look at a few figures. Nigeria’s population is put at a little over 200 million people while the United Kingdom population is about 68 million. This means that the Nigerian population is about three (3) times that of the UK. As at June 2023, the UK banking system had about 49,421 Automatic Teller Machines and almost 2.3 million Point of Sales Terminals. By contrast, the Nigerian banking system had a little over 22,600 ATMS according to TechCabal and is projected to reach 29,000 by 2029 according to Statista. Conversely, Nigeria boasted 1,665,664 POS terminals as at December 2022.…

Amidst pomp and pageantry, the beautiful city of Osogbo witnessed a historic moment as Hon. Teslim Igbalaye, the Secretary to the Osun State Government, was installed as the new Bobagunwa of Osogbo. This grand occasion took place at the Ataoja’s palace, with His Royal Majesty, Oba Jimoh Oyetunji (Larooye II), the Ataoja of Osogbo, presiding over the ceremony. Teslim Igbalaye succeeds his late father, Alhaji Abdulrasheed Igbalaye, who was the pioneer Bobagunwa of Osogbo. The installation ceremony drew a massive crowd, with people from far and near gathering to witness the significant event. The Ataoja’s palace was filled with dignitaries,…

A court in Toronto, Canada, has rejected the asylum application of Nigerian politician Adams Omozakari Ayonote. Mr. Ayonote, a member of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), claimed his life was at risk in Nigeria due to multiple gunshot attacks he had survived. He also argued that if he returned to Nigeria, he would face violent persecution from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). However, the Refugee Protection Division (RPD) dismissed his application, citing a lack of credibility in his claims. The tribunal stated that Mr. Ayonote failed to substantiate his allegations of past attacks. “The RPD rejected the applicant’s…

Nigerian music heavyweights Asake and Rema have earned spots on former U.S. President Barack Obama’s 2024 playlist, a globally anticipated annual tradition. This year’s selection of Obama’s playlist reflects a rich blend of global sounds, featuring both established icons and rising stars across diverse genres. Among the highlights are “Active” by Nigerian Afrobeats star Asake in collaboration with Travis Scott, and “Yayo” by Rema, further solidifying Nigeria’s growing influence on the global music scene. Beyoncé’s “Texas Hold ‘Em” also made the cut, continuing her reign as a cultural powerhouse. The playlist balances energetic tracks like Kendrick Lamar’s “Squabble Up” and…

A fire incident has claimed the lives of a husband, his wife, and their grandson in the Ori-Eru, Idikan area of Ibadan, Oyo State. The tragedy, which affected a storey building, occurred in the early hours of Friday, according to the News Agency of Nigeria. The General Manager of the Oyo State Fire Services Agency, Yemi Akinyinka, disclosed this in a statement released on Friday in Ibadan. He disclosed that the agency received a distress call about the fire at 3:46 am on Friday from one Hassan and immediately deployed personnel to the scene. “On arrival, we found the upper…

The Court of Appeal has awarded the sum of N15m as general damages against MTN Nigeria Communications Limited for bombarding a customer’s phone number with unsolicited messages and caller tunes when the customer didn’t subscribe to the services. Justice Okon Abang of the Abuja division of the appellate court made the pronouncement while delivering judgment in an appeal brought before him by a public interest lawyer, Ezugwu Anene, on Friday. In his appeal, the appellant claimed that some 88 unsolicited calls made by MTN to him at odd hours had caused him embarrassment, inconvenience, distraction, and anxiety, thereby breaching…

Mason Mount is facing another lengthy spell on the sidelines, compounding his misery during another stop-start season at Manchester United. The former Chelsea midfielder has been a peripheral figure since arriving at Old Trafford in July last year, struggling with a loss of form and persistent injury issues. Mount  has played just 32 times for United so far, scoring a solitary goal, and has started just nine Premier League games in total. United boss Ruben Amorim said Mount would be out for “several weeks” after being forced off early in last week’s Manchester derby, which United won 2-1. “I don’t…

Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State has announced that he will cancel his birthday celebrations in honour of the children who died during Wednesday’s stampede in Ibadan. Makinde stated this in Ibadan on Friday while receiving the South-East delegation of the Peoples Democratic Party, led by its Board of Trustees Chairman, Senator Adolphus Wabara. The delegation visited to condole with the governor over the early-morning stampede at the children’s carnival at Islamic High School, Basorun, Ibadan. Makinde described the incident, which claimed the lives of 35 children, as painful, unfortunate, and preventable. He stated that, in light of the tragedy,…

Human rights lawyer, Dele Farotimi has been granted ₦30 million bail by a Magistrate court in Ekiti State. Farotimi, who has been remanded in a correctional centre in Ado Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital, arrived at the Magistrate Court premises around 9:45 am on Friday. He was conveyed to the court premises in a prison’s van with a police escort, alighting while raising his hands up in appreciation of a cheering crowd outside the court. More to follow…