Author: Amina Mohammed

Inter Miami’s Lionel Messi will not play in this week’s MLS All-Stars Game, Major League Soccer (MLS) said on Monday. This has come eight days after the Argentine superstar left the Copa America final match with an ankle injury. Messi was listed among unavailable players for Wednesday’s match in Columbus, Ohio, pitting MLS All Stars from 18 league clubs against top talent from Mexico’s LIGA MX. The game would have been the 37-year-old’s MLS All-Stars Game debut after he joined Inter Miami in July 2023 following a storied career in Europe. The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner has 12 goals and…

Donald Trump constantly attacked his Democratic opponent Joe Biden over his age and fitness. Still, the 78-year-old Republican could find those same arguments coming back to haunt him after the president ended his reelection bid. With Vice President Kamala Harris, 59, on course to become the Democratic nominee, Trump will be a much older candidate and face an even brighter spotlight on any hint of decline. “The dynamics have drastically changed,” Matthew Foster, a political scientist at American University, told AFP. Trump continued to attack Biden’s mental acuity even after he dropped out, taunting on social media that he is…

Manchester City, Manager, Pep Guardiola, has confirmed that Kevin de Bruyne will not leave the club this summer amid transfer speculation of the Belgian midfield maestro plying his trade for Saudi Pro League. According to a tweet from Fabrizio Romano on Tuesday, “Pep Guardiola has just confirmed that Kevin de Bruyne will NOT sign for Saudi Pro League this summer. “No, Kevin is NOT leaving,’ Pep says.” Also, according to BBC sport.com, De Bruyne has been heavily linked with a summer move to Saudi Arabia. Meet Aliyu Musa, Ilorin- Based Self-Taught Aircraft, Drone Maker He has one-year left on his…

The Ogun State Independent Electoral Commission, on Monday, debunked the notice of the next local government elections scheduled to be held on Saturday, October 26, 2024. The purported statement was said to have been signed by the Chairman of OGSIEC, Babatunde Osibodu, dated Wednesday, July 24, and flooded social media on Sunday. The Special Adviser on Media and Strategy to Governor Dapo Abiodun, Mr Kayode Akinmade, has, however, told our correspondent that the statement was fake news and should be disregarded by the residents of the state. Responding, Osibodu said on Monday that the statement had never originated from the…

The Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics announced on Monday the decision to suspend its planned strike over the newly released scheme of service for polytechnics. ASUP said its decision to suspend the planned industrial action followed engagements with the Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman. Recall that the NBTE unveiled new schemes of service on 19 June 2024, as approved by the Federal Government for Nigerian Polytechnics, with effect from 7 June 2024. However, the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics opposed it, alleging that the new schemes of service lacked inclusive stakeholder input, particularly from their union and stakeholders in…

The Federal Government has arraigned a senior Immigration officer, Akomolafe Gbenga Michael, serving at the Murtala Muhammad International Airport, Ikeja in Lagos. He was arraigned alongside three others before Justice Daniel Osiagor of the Federal High Court sitting in Lagos on a nine-count charge of alleged conspiracy, unlawful possession, import, and dealing in the prohibited substances. He was specifically alleged to have been involved in trafficking 8 kilograms of Methamphetamine and 7.60 kilograms of Cannabis Sativa, also known as marijuana. Others arraigned on the alleged offences alongside the Immigration officer are; Babatunde Micheal Olufemi said to be a staff of…

The House of Representatives on Monday, July 22, said that the habit of consistently ignoring invitations from the parliament by ministers, heads of government agencies, and other government appointees was very embarrassing. This is as the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) and the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) disagree over the provision of a 10% freight levies. Speaker of the House, Abbas Tajudeen, who spoke at an investigative hearing organised by the House of Representatives Joint Committees on Commerce, Maritime Safety Education and Administration and Legislative Compliance said the attitude of some members of the Executive to the…

The Senate has said that revenue losses from illegal bunkering, pipeline vandalism, oil theft, and other nefarious activities in the oil industry have deprived of the funds needed for development and growth. Speaking on Monday in Abuja while inaugurating the 14- member Ad- hoc Committee to investigate alleged Economic sabotage in the Petroleum Sector, the President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio said that these activities have undermined investor confidence, distorted market operations, and exacerbated the country’s economic challenges. The Senate leader, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, APC, Ekiti Central is the Chairman of the Committee. According to Akpabio, all hands must…

A police sergeant has shot his father to death in the Tudu area of the Maduganari community behind the Borno State Police Command headquarters in Maiduguri. The officer identified as Linus Wadzani was said to have shot his father multiple times. He is a Mobile Police personnel with Mopol 6, Maiduguri, and serves as a security detail at the Borno State House of Assembly. While briefing journalists at the Borno State Police Command Headquarters on Monday, the spokesman of the command Kenneth Daso said the deceased was a retired assistant superintendent of police. He said the deceased served at the…

President Bola Tinubu has approved the appointment of Professor John Obafunwa as the new Director-General of the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research (NIMR). Professor Obafunwa succeeds Professor Babatunde Salako, whose tenure expires on July 23, 2024. A statement by Special Adviser to the President (Media & Publicity), Chief Ajuri Ngelale, on Monday, said the appointment takes effect from July 24, 2024. President Tinubu then extended his gratitude to Professor Salako for his service to the nation. Professor Obafunwa qualified in medicine from the University of Lagos in 1980, following which he specialised in Anatomic Pathology (morphological study of diseases), graduating…