Author: Opalim Lifted

Celebrity fashion designer Veekee James has responded to a critic who questioned why she and her husband, Femi Atere, frequently attend events together. The criticism came after the couple appeared at TikToker Peller’s wedding. In a Snapchat post, a user identified as Laura asked why Atere always accompanied his wife, suggesting he had become “a handbag.” Reacting to the comment, Veekee said she and her husband view themselves as inseparable partners, stressing that their lives are completely intertwined. “My husband doesn’t have a life of his own. His life is my life. In the same way, I don’t have a…

Former Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has paid a condolence visit to the vice-presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Rotimi Amaechi, following the death of his mother, Dame Ezinne Mary Oduah Amaechi. Osinbajo visited the former minister of transportation and his family at their Abuja residence to sympathise with them over the loss of the family matriarch. His visit comes as political leaders from across the country continue to troop to Amaechi’s home to offer their condolences. Osinbajo and Amaechi both served in the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari, where Osinbajo was vice president while Amaechi held the…

Fulham have signed forward Gonzalo Garcia and midfielder Cesar ​Palacios from Real Madrid on five-year contracts, the ‌Premier League club said on Monday. Palacios, 21, and Real academy product Garcia, 22, will reunite with former coach Alvaro Arbeloa at Fulham. Arbeloa coached Real’s ​youth and reserve teams before taking over ​the senior side in January to replace ⁠compatriot Xabi Alonso. He left Real at ​the end of the season and joined Fulham in July. Garcia ​scored 13 goals in 51 appearances for Real in all competitions and won the Champions League and LaLiga in 2024. The ​transfer fee was not…

Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has urged Nigeria to embrace a stronger maintenance culture, warning that increased budgetary allocations alone will not deliver lasting infrastructure development. Speaking on Monday at the 2026 Delta State Economic and Investment Summit, themed ‘Harnessing Our Strengths, Unlocking Our Potentials’, Okonjo-Iweala said the country must prioritise maintaining existing infrastructure while investing in better ports, digital connectivity and lower trade costs. “Endowments alone do not add value. Budgetary allocations alone do not lead to new roads, to good maintenance,” she said. “We lack a maintenance culture in the country. We need maintenance.…

Adeniyi Adeyemi, the director-general of the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC), has asked the House of Representatives to issue an administrative clearance allowing him to testify at the lower chamber’s investigative hearing. In a statement released by his legal team on Sunday, Adeyemi, who is currently in custody, said any legislative report on the PFIPC scandal without his testimony would be “fundamentally flawed”. Adeyemi’s legal team is led by Festus Akhigbe, a lawyer. Last week, officials of the federal government appeared before the House of Representatives ad hoc committee investigating the PFIPC controversy and the ₦1.3 billion allocated to…

The presidency has issued a seven-week timeline for drafting the proposed state police bill. Femi Gbajabiamila, chairman of the Presidential Working Group on the National Policing Bill, said on Monday that the executive bill will be ready for President Bola Tinubu’s review on September 3, 2026. In July, Tinubu inaugurated the presidential committee to prepare the legal framework for implementing state police across the country. Speaking after the inaugural meeting of the presidential committee at the State House on Monday, Gbajabiamila said the approved timetable for drafting the state police bill runs from July 27, 2026, to September 14, 2026.…

The Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA) says it has opened applications for a $150 million offshore financing facility aimed at supporting the expansion of Nigerian businesses across key sectors of the economy. In a statement on Sunday, the association said the facility, developed in partnership with ODDO BHF SE, a German banking group, offers eligible companies access to long-term expansion financing at single-digit interest rates. NACCIMA said applications can now be submitted through a dedicated online portal launched during the Infrastructure Conference (INFRACON) 2026 in Abuja. According to the association, the financing targets businesses…

The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has clarified that there was no fire outbreak at Terminal 2 of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) in Lagos, correcting an earlier advisory that reported a fire incident. FAAN had initially announced that a section of the terminal had been engulfed by fire, stating that its Aerodrome Rescue and Firefighting Service (ARFFS) had responded promptly and that no casualties or loss of life were recorded. However, in an updated statement, the authority said preliminary investigations showed that the incident was not caused by a fire. According to FAAN, the smoke seen inside…

Orji Kalu has described the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) as the “conscience of the country”, urging President Bola Tinubu to carefully consider the concerns recently raised by the clerics instead of viewing them as political criticism. The senator representing Abia North made the remarks in a video posted on his Facebook page while reacting to the recent meeting between President Tinubu and the leadership of the CBCN at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, as well as the public debate that followed. During the meeting last Tuesday, the bishops, led by CBCN President Archbishop Matthew Ndagoso, expressed concerns over…

Morocco and Spain have reported conflicting death tolls from the recent mass crossings into Ceuta, with reports indicating that many migrants died. On Sunday, Miguel Ángel Pérez, the Spanish government representative in Ceuta, said the death toll had risen to at least 72, just a day after Fernando Grande-Marlaska, Spain’s interior minister, said at least 67 people had died while attempting the crossing. Moroccan authorities disputed the figures. The North African country’s interior ministry said only 11 people died while trying to reach the Spanish enclave. According to Rabat, 10 of the victims drowned, while an eleventh person fell from…