Author: David Great

Lionel Messi will kick off his first full MLS campaign on Feb. 21 when Inter Miami kick off the 2024 regular season at home with a match against Real Salt Lake, the league announced on Wednesday. Messi’s club, which he joined in July after signing a two-and-a-half-year contract, will be thrown back in the spotlight four days later when Miami visit LA Galaxy in a match that will highlight a full slate of opening week action. Among their 34 regular season games, Messi’s club will also visit Orlando City SC on May 15 during MLS Rivalry Week. Miami’s final regular…

President Bola Tinubu authorised a 50% reduction in interstate transport fares for Nigerians travelling during the yuletide from Thursday, December 21, 2023, to January 4, 2024 on Wednesday. Disclosing this to State House Correspondents at the Aso Rock Villa on Wednesday, Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake said President Tinubu also granted free commuter rides on all rail lines throughout the period. He said, “It is in this wise that the President is announcing through us that beginning from tomorrow, December 21, Nigerians willing to travel can board public transport via mini buses, luxury buses at 50 per cent…

The 1 Division Nigerian Army on Wednesday said its troops killed a bandit and recovered arms and ammunition in Sabon Birni, Igabi Local Government Area of Kaduna State. According to a statement by the division’s Acting Deputy Director, Public Relations, Lt-Col Musa Yahaya, the feat was recorded on December 17, when troops ambushed some bandits in the area. He said the troops recovered one AK 47 rifle and magazine loaded with 15 of 7.62mm (special) ammunition, a baofeng radio and two techno phones. Army kills six bandits, recovers six AK-47s in Kaduna “Troops of the division, in another sting operation…

Dr Kayode Fayemi, the former governor of Ekiti State, on Tuesday, urged the National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress, Dr Abdullahi Ganduje, not to fail in his duty to tell the President the truth at all times. The former minister of solid minerals spoke in Abuja at the public presentation of a book titled, ‘APC and Transition Politics’ written by a  former National Vice Chairman (North-West) of the APC, Mallam Salihu Lukman. The Ekiti politician also advised President Bola Tinubu to look beyond the presidential villa for feedback on the performance of his administration. According to Fayemi it was…

The French parliament on Tuesday passed an immigration bill backed by the government of President Emmanuel Macron after he faced a major rebellion within his own party over the far right’s support of the toughened-up legislation. The lower house voted in favour of the legislation by a wide majority, with the ruling party in the end not needing the support of Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally (RN) to push the bill through. Various amendments have seen the immigration measures further tightened from when the bill was originally submitted, with the left accusing the government of caving in to pressure…

The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) said 205 people were killed in 231 road traffic crashes between January and November in Kano. The FRSC sector commander in Kano, Ibrahim Abdullahi, said this in an interview on Tuesday. Mr Abdullahi said that during the period under review, 1,451 people were involved in the crashes, while 759 sustained varying degrees of injuries and 692 were rescued. He also said that 33,324 vehicles were impounded within the period under review for contravening various traffic offences. Mr Abdullahi identified some of the most prevalent offences: non-possession of driver’s licence, overloading and speed limit violation.…

A businessman, Nasiru Yunusa, told the Upper Area Court in Kubwa, FCT, that he would grant his wife, Aisha Hamisu, a divorce if she paid him N1 million. The couple married according to Islamic law in 2021 and have a 13-month-old daughter. Ms Hamisu approached the court seeking the dissolution of her marriage with Mr Yunusa on the grounds of lack of care and respect. She said Mr Yunusa packed her belongings from his house to her father’s house on April 19, 2022. Mr Yunusa, however, said he wanted Ms Hamisu to return to his house but would grant her…

Chief Robert Clarke, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, has attacked Arise News TV presenters Ayo Mairo-Ese and Rufai Oseni, calling their TV chairman, Nduka Obaigbena, a politician. According to him, TV stations, including Arise TV, are not neutral in their reporting since they are all related to politicians who use them for selfish goals. Pa Clarke made this comment during an interview on the television station’s Morning Show programme on Tuesday. He particularly emphasised that Obaigbena is a politician by choice, while he (Pa Clarke) is a pseudo-politician. Obaigbena CON, Duke of Owa Kingdom, is the founding Chairman & Editor-in-Chief…

The naira crashed to a new record low against the dollar on the official market on Tuesday, falling to over N1000 on the unofficial parallel market. The Nigerian currency fell as low as N1,248 to the dollar, during mid-day trading, LSEG data showed after it opened at N927 on Tuesday. It later recovered to N845. Nigeria’s Central Bank governor Olayemi Cardoso has said he would allow market forces to determine exchange rates while setting clear, transparent and harmonised rules governing market operations. The comments and chronic dollar shortages on the official market have prompted the naira’s official exchange rate to…

The Police, on Monday, said it had arrested four suspects and neutralised two in connection with the October 23, deadly bank robbery in Otukpo area of Benue. The Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Olukayode Egbetokun, said this in Abuja at a meeting with strategic police managers, consisting of officers from the rank of Commissioner of Police (CP). “You will recall the deadly Otukpo bank robbery of Oct. 23, during which the Otukpo Divisional Police Officers (DPO) and many other innocent Nigerians lost their lives. “Huge sum of money was carted away from the three commercial banks that were robbed during the…