Author: Opalim Lifted

President Bola Tinubu will begin a three-week leave on Sunday, with London, United Kingdom, as his first stop, according to Bayo Onanuga, his presidential spokesperson. Tinubu is expected to depart Abuja later on Sunday for Europe, where he will spend the period on what the presidency described as a “working vacation”. “His first stop will be London, United Kingdom,” Onanuga said. The president is expected to return to Nigeria after the break and join preparations for the January 2027 election campaign. Tinubu also took a 10-day annual vacation in September 2025, spending the period in the United Kingdom and France.…

Bola Oyebamiji, the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate in the Osun governorship election, has accepted the outcome of the poll and urged party members to unite ahead of the 2027 general election. Ademola Adeleke, the Accord candidate, was declared the winner of the August 15 governorship election. In a statement on Saturday, Oyebamiji thanked APC members for supporting his campaign, commending their “sacrifices, resilience, prayers and unwavering belief” in him. He also appreciated President Bola Tinubu, Bisi Akande, former governor of Osun, and Adegboyega Oyetola, minister of marine and blue economy, for their guidance and support. While accepting the election…

The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) and the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) have urged the National Assembly to immediately reject the Foreign Aids (Regulation, Transparency and Disclosure) Bill, 2026 (SB.1034), warning that it could undermine civic space, media freedom and democratic participation. In a joint open letter dated 29 August 2026 and signed by SERAP Deputy Director Kolawole Oluwadare and NGE General Secretary Onuoha Ukeh, the organisations called on Senate President Godswill Akpabio and House of Representatives Speaker Tajudeen Abbas to withdraw the bill. The bill, sponsored by Senator Ibrahim Dankwambo (PDP, Gombe North), proposes mandatory registration and…

Newcastle manager Matthias Jaissle claimed his first Premier League victory with goals from Anthony Elanga and Yoane Wissa at Tottenham Hotspur, who lost their second league game of the season. There had not been a goalless draw between these clubs since the top flight was rebranded as the Premier League in 1992, and Elanga broke the deadlock in the 62nd minute. New signing Nico Gonzalez, making his Magpies debut following his £52m move from Manchester City, started the move with a superb crossfield pass to Amar Dedic, who headed the ball into Elanga’s path. The Swede, who also scored in…

Meta, the parent company of WhatsApp, will begin charging businesses for customer-service messages sent through the WhatsApp Business Platform from October 1, 2026. The company will also introduce charges for utility messages sent in response to users within an open 24-hour customer-service window. The changes mean businesses that rely on WhatsApp for customer support and automated communications will face additional operational costs. According to a notice on the WhatsApp Business Platform, Meta said it would introduce per-message charges for service messages, which have been free since November 1, 2024. “Effective October 1, 2026, Meta will charge on a per-message basis…

President Bola Tinubu has asked a United States court to block the further release of FBI and DEA records concerning investigations allegedly involving him, arguing that the documents are protected by privacy laws. Tinubu, who joined the case as an intervenor, filed the response on Friday before the US District Court for the District of Columbia. He urged the court to reject Aaron Greenspan’s motion for summary judgment and allow the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to retain redactions and withholdings in records already released. Greenspan, founder of PlainSite, filed Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)…

Bashir El-Rufai, son of former Kaduna governor Nasir El-Rufai, says he keeps guns and knives at his bedside. Bashir made the comment in a series of posts on X on Saturday, during an exchange about his brother, Bello El-Rufai, the lawmaker representing the Kaduna North Federal Constituency. Bashir criticised Bello over his recent political moves, accusing him of abandoning the family while remaining aligned with Uba Sani, the Kaduna governor and their father’s successor. In one of the posts, Bashir alleged that Bello had told him to kill himself. “Telling me to kill myself,” he wrote. An X user, Nurudeen…

Bashir El-Rufai, son of former Kaduna governor Nasir El-Rufai, unleashed a barrage of slurs at his brother, Bello, on Saturday. Bashir, in a series of expletive-laden posts on X, attacked Bello over his recent political moves, accusing him of abandoning the family while he was aligned with Uba Sani, his father’s successor. Sani, the incumbent governor of Kaduna, was a former ally of El-Rufai, but both men fell out after Sani won the 2023 governorship election. Following El-Rufai’s resignation from the All Progressives Congress (APC) in March 2025, Bello, who represents Kaduna North Federal Constituency, remained in the ruling party.…

Togo, Niger and Benin owe Nigeria $11.16 million for electricity supplied by Nigerian electricity generation companies (GenCos) under bilateral arrangements in 2025, according to the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC). In its 2025 annual report, NERC said the Market Operator (MO) issued invoices totalling $73.91 million to the three international customers for ancillary services, but received only $62.75 million. The payments represented an 84.90 percent remittance performance, leaving $11.16 million outstanding. The international offtakers were Compagnie Énergie Électrique du Togo (CEET), Société Béninoise d’Énergie Électrique (SBEE) and Société Nigérienne d’Électricité (NIGELEC). NERC said: “The international bilateral customers (i.e., Societe Nigerienne…

Liverpool’s Victor Munoz struck a late equaliser to salvage a 2-2 draw against Nottingham Forest on Saturday, but Andoni Iraola’s side were left still searching for their first Premier League win of the season after his first home league game in charge. Forest had looked set to leave Anfield with all three points, in what would have been a first league victory in charge for Oliver Glasner, when Morgan Gibbs-White converted a 70th-minute penalty, awarded after Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson fouled Neco Williams in the area, to give Forest a 2-1 lead. But newcomer Munoz, in his first start for Liverpool,…