Author: Vincent Osuwo

Lionel Messi and Erling Haaland lead the men’s shortlist for the 2023 Ballon d’Or, while Aitana Bonmati of Spain leads the women’s nominees. Messi, 36, has won a record seven Ballon d’Or awards in his brilliant career and is favoured to earn another after assisting Argentina to victory in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Erling Haaland will be one of his main rivals in the race for the 2023 Ballon d’or after scoring 52 goals in his debut season for Manchester City, helping Pep Guardiola’s team achieve a historic triple of the Premier League, FA Cup, and Champions League.…

The Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) has instructed all affiliate unions to return to work on Thursday following the successful execution of a two-day warning strike to attract the attention of the government to the hardships being faced by Nigerians as a result of the removal of fuel subsidy.  In a letter to all of its affiliates and State Council Chairpersons, the NLC expressed thanks for making substantial gains towards accomplishing the Congress goals stated during its National Executive Council, NEC, where the strike decision was decided. In the letter, titled “The Two-Day Nationwide Warning Strike: Nigerian Workers Have Speak,” signed…

The Labour Party has rejected the ruling of the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal (PEPT), which upheld the declaration of Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress, APC, as the winner of the February 25, 2023, presidential election. The national publicity secretary of the party, Obiora Ifoh, made the party’s position known in Abuja shortly after the court announced its decision. Arguing that “justice was not served”, Ifoh stated that the ruling “did not reflect the law and the desire of the people.” Ifoh said, “The Labour Party watched with dismay and trepidation the dismissal of petitions by the five-man panel…

The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has approved a 40% increase in the price of prepaid electricity metres in the country. As stated in a September 5, 2023, circular signed by the commission’s Chairman and Commissioner Legal, Licencing, and Compliance, Sanusi Garba and Dafe Akpeneye, respectively, a single-phase pre-paid metre will now cost N81,975.16k from N58,661.69k, while a three-phase pre-paid metre will now cost N143,836.10k from N109,684.36k. This implies that electricity consumers will have to pay an additional N23,313.64 for a single-phase metre, which is 40 per increment, and N34,151.76 to get a three-phase metre, representing a 31 percent increase. The…

The Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal has ruled that Peter Obi and the Labour Party (LP) failed to specify how they scored the majority of lawful votes in the February 25 presidential election. In the ruling read by Justice Abba Bello Mohammed, he stated that the political party made comprehensive allegations of irregularities, suppression of votes, and corrupt practices to rob them of their votes, especially in Rivers, Benue, Lagos, Taraba, Imo, and Osun states, but failed to specify the polling units affected. The honourable judge further held that Obi and the Labour Party also failed to prove the allegations of…

Men of the Nigerian Police Force have reportedly arrested two protesters at the University of Lagos Junction while protesting fee increases at the university on Wednesday. Femi Adeyeye and Philip Olatinwo, the two students, were arrested and placed in a police van stationed in the neighbourhood. “They mobilized policemen from many stations,” Adeyeye said in a distress message sent to newsmen, sharing another video of himself and Philip in the van. Another protester, Bayo, informed reporters that police shot tear gas at them, causing many of the studenrs who had gathered to disperse. “Many students have fled the scene. I’m…

The Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal has ruled that it lacks the powers to hear the suit filed by the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) challenging the qualifications of President Bola Tinubu and Kashim Shettima. Reading the lead judgement on Wednesday, Justice Haruna Tsammani stated that the issues brought before the tribunal are pre-election matters, which ought to have been before a high court. He further stated that the timeframe of 180 days within which to determine the issue had elapsed. “In Alhassan and others versus Ishaku and others, it was held that an election tribunal has no jurisdiction over the primary…

England international Bukayo Saka has been named England Men’s Player of the Year for a second successive year, the English Football Association has announced. The 22-year-old Arsenal winger was voted the standout player of the 2022–23 season by fans, ahead of midfielder Jude Bellingham and striker Harry Kane, who were second and third, respectively. Saka, who made his England debut in October 2020, scored seven goals in ten games for England in the previous 12 months, including three goals at the 2022 World Cup. He was voted player of the match in England’s 6-2 win over Iran in Qatar, as…

Popular Nigerian music producer and Chief Executive Officer of Mavin Records, Michael Collins Ajereh, popularly called Don Jazzy, has described Nigeria’s rave of the moment, Asake, as “Nigeria’s Lil Wayne.” Speaking in a podcast interview with DJ Big N, the Mavin boss said the YBNL signee is a rare and generational artist. He said, “Asake is such a brilliant artist. He’s an all-rounder. He’s an artist that we don’t get all the time, but when he does, you just know that a star has been born. Asake is Nigeria’s Lil Wayne.” His comment comes on the heels of the YBNL artist’s…

Governor Yahaya Bello, the executive governor of Kogi State, has approved a 100% increase in the allowance of National Youth Service Corps members sent to Kogi State for their mandated one-year service. This is stated in a statement published on Tuesday in Lokoja and made accessible to journalists by the Governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Onogwu Mohammed. The governor was stated to have approved the increase in light of present economic realities as well as the overall value of the NYSC scheme to national and state development. Speaking on Tuesday at the NYSC 2023 Batch ‘B’ Stream 2 closing ceremony at…