Author: Vincent Osuwo

Bidzina Ivanishvili, Georgia’s strong oligarch, will award the country’s national football squad $10 million if they reach the last 16 of Euro 2024, his ruling party announced Thursday.  Georgia’s 2-0 victory over Portugal on Wednesday marked a historic victory in the Black Sea country’s debut at a major international competition. Coached by Frenchman Willy Sagnol, the squad advanced from Group F as one of the four best third-place finishers and will face Spain, which won all of their group games, on Sunday. The ruling Georgian Dream Party’s “honorary chairman Bidzina Ivanishvili will award Georgia’s football team 30 million lari ($10.7…

Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) allegedly stole money, phones, and ATM cards from guests and staff during an invasion of Annex and Regional Hotels in Isashi Ojo, Lagos State, in the early hours of Friday. According to CCTV footage making the rounds on social media, some men alleged to be EFCC operatives could be seen assaulting the manager of the hotel while other operatives stole valuables from the hotel. The operatives who scared guests and residents by shooting sporadically in the air were alleged to have also assaulted guests of the hotel, disposing of their money,…

The Nigeria Governors’ Forum has guaranteed Nigerians and organised labour that ongoing negotiations will result in higher minimum wages. The governors had earlier rejected the Federal Government’s N62,000 proposal, claiming that some states would have to borrow money to cover salaries. Despite this, organised labour continues to demand a salary of N250,000. The governors chose to convene an emergency meeting after the Federal Executive Council postponed the minimum wage debate on Tuesday to allow President Bola Tinubu to conduct more extensive consultations. According to a communiqué signed by NGF interim director of media, Ahmed Salihu, during an emergency meeting that…

Junior hospital doctors in England began a five-day strike on Thursday, just a week before a general election in which the status of the publicly financed National Health Service is a significant concern.  It follows nearly a dozen such measures taken by doctors below the specialist/consultant level in the last 18 months. The NHS is dealing with a tremendous backlog caused by the COVID-19 outbreak, which is compounded by the periodic doctor’s strikes. In addition to delays in procedures and cancer treatment, an increasingly unhappy public faces lengthy wait times to visit a doctor at their local surgery. A recent…

Alhaji Yahaya Bello, the immediate past Governor of Kogi State, who is facing a 19-count indictment, has written to Justice John Tsoho, Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, seeking to be permitted to stand trial in Kogi. In a letter written through his team of lawyers led by Mr. Abdulwahab Mohammed, SAN, ex-governor Bello maintained that only the Lokoja Division of the High Court has territorial jurisdiction to hear the allegations brought against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC. Bello did not appear before the Federal High Court in Abuja to submit his plea to the…

The former President of Honduras, Juan Orlando Hernández, who was convicted of narcotics charges in a US court, has been sentenced to 45 years in jail.  Hernández was convicted in March of plotting to transport cocaine into the United States and possessing “destructive devices” such as machine rifles. Prosecutors in New York claimed he controlled the Central American country like a “narco-state” and collected millions of dollars in bribes from drug traffickers to protect them from prosecution. “He paved a cocaine superhighway to the United States, protected by machine guns,” prosecutors said in their closing arguments ahead of his conviction.…

US President Joe Biden and Donald Trump will take the stage on Thursday night in a debate ahead of the 2024 presidential election. An incumbent US president has never debated his predecessor, and the animosity between the two men will be evident on the CNN debate stage in Atlanta. Trump never conceded the 2020 election to President Biden, and days after his supporters invaded the US Capitol, he defied precedent by declining to attend his opponent’s inauguration. The two men are now vying for the president once more, and this debate will be the first time in this election cycle…

The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has approved the disbursement of student loans to successful applicants.  On Wednesday, NELFUND had its maiden board meeting, marking a significant milestone in the organisation’s objective to assist students with financial help. Under the direction of Chairman Jim Ovia, the board approved the prompt disbursement of student loans to successful candidates. A late Wednesday statement released from the agency’s X account confirmed this. The press release was titled, “NELFUND Holds Inaugural Board Meeting as Student Loan Disbursement Tops Agenda.” It was signed by Nasir Ayitogo, Head of Media and Public Relations. The conference, which…

Mr. Ike Okoye, a retired teacher from Isuofia, Aguata Local Government Area, was apprehended by the Anambra State Government’s Ministry of Women and Social Welfare, in collaboration with Operation Clean and Healthy Anambra operatives, for allegedly molesting and engaging in same-sex activities with young boys in the community.  According to a statement issued on Wednesday by Chidinma Ikeanyionwu, media assistant to Ify Obinabo, the state commissioner of women affairs and social welfare, the retired teacher was apprehended after the incident was reported to the Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Welfare Ikeanyionwu stated that Chief Chikadibia Okeke, President-General of the…

Police in Yobe have detained Zainab Isa, a 22-year-old housewife, for reportedly stabbing her husband to death in Damaturu, the state capital.  Dungus Abdulkarim, spokesman for the state police command, confirmed the event in a statement released on Wednesday. He said the suspect attacked her husband, Ibrahim Yahaya, 25, with a knife after an argument in Abbari ward. “The command is saddened by the unfortunate actions of a couple that led to the death of a promising young man due to the consequences of an abusive marriage. “On June 26, 2024, at about 10:00 a.m., the C Divisional Police Headquarters…