Author: Festus Adeloye

The Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Mojisola Meranda, has pledged to work together with other arms of government in the State to achieve a greater Lagos. Speaker Meranda who took her first duty as Speaker appointed new principal officers that would join in championing the affairs of the House. Honourable Temitope Adedeji, representing Ifako/Ijaye 1, was announced as the Majority Leader of the House while Richard Kasunmu representing Ikeja 2, was made the Deputy Majority Leader, David Setonji representing Badagry 2, is the Chief Whip while Ganiyu Sanni representing Kosofe constituency 1, is the Deputy Chief Whip.…

Donald Trump’s economic plans risk reigniting US inflation, the International Monetary Fund chief economist, Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas, told AFP just days before the president-elect is set to return to the White House.Trump’s proposals to increase tariffs and restrict immigration could constrain the supply side of the economy and drive up prices, Gourinchas said in an interview.Other plans floated by the president-elect, such as reducing regulations and cutting taxes, could also fuel inflation by boosting demand, he added.“The bottom line is that when we assess the risk for the US, we see an upside risk on inflation,” Gourinchas noted. The economist spoke…

Oscar-nominated UK actress Joan Plowright, a legend of stage and screen and wife of the great actor Laurence Olivier, has died at the age of 95, her family said Friday. “It is with great sadness that the family of Dame Joan Plowright, the Lady Olivier, inform you that she passed away peacefully on 16 January 2025 surrounded by her family at Denville Hall at the glorious age of 95. “Her brilliant career will be remembered by many, her wonderful being always cherished by her children Richard, Tamsin and Julie-Kate, their families and Joan’s many friends,” they added. Plowright was one…

The Police Service Commission has approved the appointment of AIG in charge of Border Patrol, Force Headquarters, Abuja, Banji Lawal as a substantive Deputy Inspector General of Police representing the South West Geopolitical Zone. A statement signed by the commission’s Head, Press and Public Relations, Ikechukwu Ani said Lawal was appointed at an extraordinary on Friday. Lawal takes over from DIG Sylvester Alabi who represented the zone and retired on the 31st of December 2024. Alabi was the DIG in charge of the Force Criminal Investigation Department. The new DIG was a former Commandant Police Training College, Ikeja, Lagos; Assistant…

Belgium’s football association on Friday announced the sacking of national team coach Domenico Tedesco after disappointing performances at Euro 2024 and in the Nations League. “Unfortunately, the Red Devils did not perform as we hoped at Euro 2024, just as they did in the next Nations League campaign,” the football association (RBFA) said on their website. Tedesco was appointed in February 2023 to replace Roberto Martinez and rebuild the squad as the country’s “golden generation” departed. Tedesco’s team qualified for Euro 2024 but were eliminated in the last 16 by France, who then beat Belgium twice more in the Nations…

President Bola Tinubu has expressed deep sorrow over the passing of Adewunmi Onanuga, the Deputy Chief Whip of the House of Representatives and representative for the Ikenne/Sagamu/Remo North Federal Constituency of Ogun State. Onanuga passed away on Wednesday after a brief illness. In a statement issued by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, Tinubu described the late lawmaker as a devoted public servant and a source of inspiration for women in politics. He praised her relentless commitment to her constituency and her passion for a better Nigeria. “She never stopped serving her constituency, and…

The Federal High Court in Lagos on Thursday fixed January 20, 2025, for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to arraign the Chairman of Honeywell Group, Chief Oba Otudeko, and a former First Bank Managing Director, Stephen Onasanya, for allegedly looting N12.3bn from First Bank. Otudeko, a former Chairman of First Bank of Nigeria Holdings, and Onasanya are to be arraigned alongside a former board member of Honeywell, Soji Akintayo, and a firm, Anchorage Leisure Limited, allegedly connected to Otudeko. According to EFCC, the four defendants allegedly committed fraud in tranches of N5.2bn, N6.2bn, N6.150bn, N1.5bn and N500m, between 2013…

The Dangote Petroleum Refinery in Lekki is set to import additional crude oil as local supply from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) proves insufficient for its operations. The refinery, with a capacity of 650,000 barrels per day, has ramped up production to 500,000bpd, aiming for 650,000bpd by June. NNPC is struggling to supply enough crude for the refinery’s needs, as its allocated 450,000bpd for local consumption is not sufficient. As a result, the refinery will seek crude from international sources to meet its growing demand. The Naira-for-crude deal initiated by President Bola Tinubu remains in place, but experts note…

Brazilian striker Neymar said Thursday that former Paris Saint-Germain teammate Kylian Mbappe became “jealous” of his relationship with Lionel Messi when the Argentine superstar joined the club in 2021. Speaking on a podcast hosted by former Brazil striker Romario, Neymar blamed a clash of egos for the failure of the three stars to gel during their spell together at the French club. The 32-year-old Neymar, who left PSG for Saudi club Al-Hilal in 2023, said he initially got on well with Mbappe when the France international joined him at PSG in 2017. “I had my issues with him, we had…

Israel’s security cabinet was set to meet Friday after final details of a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal were ironed out, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said, with the United States “confident” the truce would begin as planned this weekend. If approved by Israel’s cabinet, the ceasefire agreement would take effect Sunday and involve the exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners, after which the terms of a permanent end to the war would be finalised. Away from the diplomacy, Israeli strikes killed dozens of people, Gaza rescuers said Thursday, while Israel’s military reported hitting about 50 targets across…