BAMY BLOG

Former U.S. secretary of state and one-time Democratic presidential candidate, John Kerry, has revealed he is considering running for President in 2020. During “A Conversation With John Kerry” at Harvard’s John F. Kennedy Jr. Forum, the 74-year-old from Massachusetts revealed this when asked about a presidential run. “I’m thinking about how the hell to get out from under that question fast,” Kerry answered when asked if he had been considering a second presidential bid. He then went on to explain that while he hasn’t been actively considering it, he’s “not taking anything off the table.” “I’m not taking anything off the table,” he responded. “I haven’t been running around to the most obvious states, laying any groundwork or doing anything. “Am I going to think about it? Yeah, I’m going to think about it,” he continued. Kerry who contested for the presidency in 2004, lost to George W. Bush in a tight race, losing by 19 electoral votes.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has promoted 2,209 members of its staff in its 2018 promotion exercise.  Malam Mohammed Haruna, INEC National Commissioner and Member, Information and Voter Education Committee disclosed this on Thursday in Abuja.  According to Haruna 847 junior and 1,362 senior staff were promoted after the commission considered the report of its Appointment, Promotion and Disciplinary Committee (AFDC).  “In furtherance to the Commission’s commitment to the welfare of its staff, 2,209 were promoted. Out of a total of 927 junior staff who sat for the 2018 promotion examinations, 847 passed and were promoted accordingly. Of the 1,847 senior staff who took the exams, 1,517 passed. However, 1,362 were promoted in accordance with the existing vacancies. Out of this number, 315 persons were promoted to Directorate Cadre, eight of whom have become Directors,” he said.

Boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr and music producer DJ Khaled will pay thousands of dollars to settle charges that they violated US financial laws.  The US Securities and Exchange Commission announced the settlement on Thursday as the US financial regulator said the men failed to disclose payments they received to promote certain cryptocurrency investments.  The men neither admitted nor denied the claims, but agreed to pay combined penalties totalling more than $750,000. The two cases are the first the SEC has brought over touting violations involving initial coin offerings or ICOs, a relatively new investment vehicle associated with crypto-currencies. An ICO allows people to invest in a company by buying "tokens" or "coins" that it issues.  Despite the new language, the SEC has warned investors that it views many of the offerings as investments governed by existing securities laws. Those rules require disclosure of payments in exchange for publicity.  In th

Celebrity couple, Katie Holmes and Jamie Foxx are reportedly set to get married in Paris after years of keeping their relationship a secret. A source told Radar Online on Wednesday, that the pair are planning to tie the knot in City of Light Their insider said: 'Paris is the city where they decided to go public with their romance after years of sneaking around. Jamie’s been a handful ever since they started secretly dating in 2013 — but Katie’s convinced him to settle down, and they’re ready to make it official.' 'Katie has waited a long time to marry Jamie, and she’s now made it clear where she wants to get married and when,' the source told Radar Online. 'She’s desperate for a winter wedding in the City of Light.'

The Nigeria Police Force this morning arraigned political activist, Deji Adeyanju, Daniel Abobama and Boma Williams at Karshi Magistrate Court, Federal Capital Territory for criminal offences of Joint Act, Criminal defamation, Disturbance of public peace, Threat to public security and safety and inciting public disturbance under the Penal Code Law. A statement from the police spokesperson, Jimoh Moshood, says the court ordered that they should be remanded in Keffi Prison in Nasarawa state until January 21st 2019. Read the statement below The Nigeria Police Force today arraigned Deji Adeyanju, Daniel Abobama and Boma Williams at Karshi Magistrate Court, Federal Capital Territory for criminal offences of Joint Act, Criminal defamation, Disturbance of public peace, Threat to public security and safety and inciting public disturbance under the Penal Code Law. The lawyers to the suspects were equally in court. Deji Adeyanju, Daniel Abobama and Boma Williams were remanded to Priso

President Buhari has approved the reduction in the cost of forms for JAMB, UTME, NECO SSCE and the Basic Education Certificate Examination. His Personal Assistant on New Media, Bashir Ahmad, shared the news on twitter. Bashir wrote ''President @MBuhari approves the reduction in the cost of Forms for JAMB UTME, NECO SSCE and Basic Education Certificate Examination JAMB from N5,000 to N3,500, NECO from N11,350, to N9,850. With effect from January 2019

The meeting between the Federal Government and Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) on Monday in Abuja ended without any agreement.  Prof. Biodun Ogunyemi, ASUU President, while speaking to newsmen after the closed door meeting, said negotiation was ongoing and the meetings will continue. The meeting, which started at 5 p.m. at the Federal Ministry of Education, was to find a lasting solution to the ongoing strike. The union embarked on the strike three weeks ago over the funding of Nigerian Universities and an alleged plan by the Federal Government to increase students’ fees and introduce an education bank.  The union is also demanding the implementation of the Memorandum of Action (MoA) agreement by both parties in 2017

Singer, Justin Bieber, 24, and his wife Hailey Baldwin, 22, have reportedly relocated to Canada. According to UsWeekly, the newlyweds are living full time at his Ontario, Canada mansion he bought for $5m earlier this year, 'Hailey and Justin are living in Waterloo, Ontario, full-time now. That's their home base,' a source told the site. 'Justin has a huge home up there — 9,000 square feet, 1,000 acres, on a lake. He loves it up there and so does Hailey.' The couple who were previously splitting their time between New York City and Los Angeles spent Thanksgiving in Canada with his Justin's parents, Jeremy Bieber and Pattie Mallette. 'Hailey's father, Stephen Baldwin, as well as the model's cousins and best friend' were also there, the site claimed. 'Hailey did cook, but they all chipped in,' the source added. This comes a day after Hailey and Justin were spotted at a local hockey game in his hometown of Stratford, Ontario.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has reacted to a trending story on social media concerning a purported statement credited to the media aide of the Kano State governor to the effect that the Commission got a N10 Million donation from the state government. EFCC says, 'the story is not falsehood, but a deliberate attempt to malign the efforts of the Commission in the fight against corruption. For the records, it is a tradition that the EFCC does not receive donations from state governors/government or any individual at that'. The EFCC, as a reputable anti-graft agency is sponsored by federal government through budgetary allocation and in some cases, foreign organisations in terms of capacity building. It is true that the Commission, in collaboration with the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Crimes, ICPC and the Athletic Federation of Nigeria, AFN and other stakeholders is organizing the first National Anti-Corruption Marathon. Jaco

The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has denied reports making the rounds that the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) was, on Saturday, attacked by terrorists. A statement by the spokeswoman for FAAN, Mrs. Henrietta Yakubu, described the video trending on social media depicting the Lagos international airport as being under an attack as a ‘mock or simulation exercise’ jointly carried out two years ago by FAAN and the Nigerian military. The statement reads, “Our attention has been drawn to a video trending on the social media to the effect that the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos is under terrorist attack. “The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria will like to state unequivocally that MMIA is not under any kind of attack. The video in question is that of an old simulation exercise carried out by the Nigerian Air Force in conjunction with other aviation agencies. “FAAN will like to advise those uploading such to desist from the act as it i

The Nigerian Army on Saturday, threatened legal action against individuals or groups behind the “fake videos of purported Boko Haram attacks.” It also refused to divulge details of the terrorists’ attack on the 157 Battalion in Metele. In a statement published on its official Facebook page, the Army said that it “continued to observe with great dismay the myriads of photos and video clips being recklessly distributed on various social media platforms by different calibre of persons” noting that such undermined national security. The release partly reads, “It is indeed shocking to see how these well doctored propaganda materials from enemies of the state have succeeded in creating fear and unrest in the polity. These doctored materials are obviously serving the purposes intended by the terrorists to mis-inform the populace, spread panic, hatred, religious intolerance and above all to undermine national security. “The army wants to categorically state that the videos and image

David De Gea is set to become the highest-paid goalkeeper in the world, by joining Paris St-Germain in the summer, when his contract runs out at Manchester United. The 28-year-old has been stalling on signing a new deal at Old Trafford, knowing that he could earn up to £300,000-a-week at PSG. De Gea could be set to earn around £15.5m a year in wages with the French giants, taking his potential salary to over £60m if he were to sign a four-year deal in Paris. The Spain international is regarded as one of the best goalkeepers in the world and has won the Premier League, FA Cup, League Cup and Europa League since he signed for United in 2011. A dream move to Real Madrid fell through on transfer deadline day in 2015 and that prospect ended when Thibaut Courtois joined the Champions League holders from Chelsea last summer

Popular American Singer, Justin Bieber, has officially confirmed marriage to Hailey Baldwin The singer confirmed his marriage to the model with in an Instagram post on Friday. In the picture on his page, he wrote: “Happy late thanksgiving to everyone. “First thanksgiving as a married man, first time hosting thanksgiving. First time both sides of the family has come together.” It was earlier reported that, Bieber, 24, and Baldwin, 22, got engaged in July and secured a wedding license in September. There were reports that the pair had a secret ceremony around the same time after Baldwin changed her name on Instagram to “Hailey Rhode Bieber” but the couple did not confirm it. Speaking on his journey as a married man, Bieber added that it has not been easy but God showed him the way. “Relationships are hard and love isn’t always easy but thank you Jesus for showing me how! “Every day is a learning process, trying to be more like him, patient, kind, selfless, boy I got a

A Bill for an Act to amend the Public Holidays Act in order to declare June 12 as Democracy Day in Nigeria has passed the second reading at the House of Representatives. The bill, which was jointly sponsored by Rep. Edward Pwajok (APC-Plateau) and Rep. Kayode Oladele, seeks to bring the Act in tandem with the present realities and exigencies of the modern times. Leading the debate, Pwajok said that before 1979, there were separate Acts regulating public holidays in the country. He said the situation led to indiscriminate declaration of public holidays which had negative consequence on the nation. Pwajok recalled that in 1975, a law was made to repeal all state laws on public holidays and to streamline the process of declaring holidays for the federation. According to him, by law, the President may declare any day as public holiday by public notice or Act through the Minister of Internal Affairs. He said that by the schedule of the Act, some days such as New Year Day, Nat

The Ekiti State government has declared that the full weight of the law will be visited on any herdsman caught with dangerous weapons. It also promised to empower security agencies in the state to ensure arrest and prosecution of herdsmen destroying farmlands and attacking farmers and other residents. The Deputy Governor, Otunba Bisi Egbeyemi, disclosed this on Thursday at a peace meeting held with representatives of herders and farmers at the Government House in Ado-Ekiti in the wake of the recent alleged attacks on farmers in some communities by suspected herdsmen. A statement signed by the Special Assistant (Media) to the Deputy Governor, Odunayo Ogunmola, revealed that the meeting was attended by representatives of Fulani, Hausa, Ebira, Urhobo, Yoruba communities, Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders and Ekiti Grazing and Enforcement Marshals (EGEM). Egbeyemi warned that it was unacceptable to the state government for herdsmen to be carrying AK-47 rifles and other dangerous wea

Two persons have been confirmed dead from suspected cases of yellow fever in Edo State. It was gathered that the deaths occurred barely a week of the outbreak of strange ailments in some villages in Uhunmwode local government. Symptoms displayed by the victims include high fever, stomach pains, vomiting, nose bleeding, amongst others. Edo State Commissioner for Health, Dr. David Osifo, who confirmed the outbreak debunked rumours about Lassa fever or Ebola outbreak. He said his team of disease control experts was on ground in the affected area to contain the strange ailment. “You are correct. We suspect yellow fever, two have been confirmed as yellow fever and negative for lassa. “My team of experts was right there now to contain it. Nothing to panic the public about please,” Osifo said.

The Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) has matriculated 471 Cadets into various degree programmes with a call that they live a life of integrity and hard work. The NDA matriculation held on Thursday at the Academy Auditorium, Afaka, Kaduna. Brig. Gen. George Pedro (rtd) while congratulating the cadets, told them that they have made a great decision to join the NDA. A statement by Major Abubakar Abdullahi, NDA Public Relations Officer, quoted Pedro as reminding the cadets that their choice requires zeal and enthusiasm to make it to the peak. Brig. Gen. Pedro encouraged them to be undeterred by the challenges they may face in the course of pursuing their chosen career and to bear in mind that “becoming an officer is not just a means to an end but an end in itself”. In his inaugural lecture, the Commandant Nigeria Defence Academy, Major General Adeniyi Oyebade tasked the matriculating cadets to be focused and determined as they begin their sojourn in the Academy. Oyebade said: “

Global premier mobile phone brand TECNO Mobile has announced new smartphones CAMON 11 and CAMON 11 PRO for bright and clear selfies with high quality. The novelties will join the popular CAMON series, which already includes CAMON X and CAMON CM models, and will delight all fans of the self-portrait genre. The CAMON 11 duo utilizes improved AI technology for selfie photography in addition to many more AI-powered operational features. Together with the super Notch Screen and upgraded multi-tasking software, CAMON 11 and CAMON 11 PRO offer consumers a better user experience. The two devices were launched at a glamorous event on the 19th of November, 2018 at the prestigious Oriental Hotel. TECNO CAMON 11 devices are created for young people who follow the latest technological trends. Artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms built into the smartphones are capable of doing a lot of things that previously seemed to be impossible and take the next CAMON representatives to a new level of

The annual Reggae Afrobeats Jamrock, a concert aims at promoting Afro-Carribean music and culture in Africa scheduled to hold on Saturday, Nov. 24, 2018 will parade renowned global artists, Kranium from Jamaica and Patoranking from Nigeria. The event which tends to emphasize cultural exchange through reggae and Afro music on the same stage before an audience will hold Saturday, Nov. 24, 2018 at Harrow Park, Ahmedu Bello Way, Wuse 2 Abuja. Joseph Francis, the CEO, while speaking on behalf of the organizers, said Abuja will witness awe-inspiring performances from Kranium, Patoranking and other artists who will be thrilling the audience with beautiful and memorable vibes. He said, never has Abuja witnessed such an energetic show that will involve other top artists. Also billed to perform at the event are Abuja based artists. Event’s time is 7pm. Recall that the first edition which was held at Nicon Luxury hotel in Abuja featured Tuface Idibia and Jamaican reggae and danceha

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), University of Nigeria Nsukka chapter, Thursday, vowed that its members would not be part of the 2018 convocation ceremonies of the university. Its been reported that the decision is in line with the on going nationwide strike of the union. Dr Ifeanyichukwu Abada, the chairperson of ASUU-UNN, who briefed journalists after a congress to update members on the strike said the union agreed to write the Vice-chacellor of UNN, Prof Benjamin Ozumba to suspendthe 2018 convocation billed to start on Monday November 26 and end on December 2. The UNN-ASUU chairperson said serious sanction would be placed on any academic staff that would saboutage the union by participating in the convocation if the university decided to go ahead with it. “ASUU executives in Nsukka zone who attended this congress are in support that the convocation should be cancelled since the ongoing ASUU nationwide strike, which is total and comprehensive. “Serious s

Artificial intelligence is steadily making its way onto our smartphones and may be a key feature in the next one year. Many devices released in the past few months, from the new Google’s Pixel phones to Apple’s recent releases have included AI-focused hardware and software. These phones use AI in all sorts of clever ways, from imaging and photography, to power efficiency and security. Those who have not been in the AI game are expected to soon introduce smartphones with special functions and if rumour flying around turns out to be true, Africa’s number one mobile phone brand TECNO Mobile might be preparing to release its first AI-powered smartphone into the market. While no much details have been so far revealed about the upcoming smartphone with AI-capability, there are indications that the said smartphone will come from the Camon Series and will be available in two variants just like the Camon X/X Pro. Both devices will feature one of a kind AI-Beautification, AI-HDR, AI-Bok

Vice-President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo has said the N-Power programme of the Federal Government will be expanded to accommodate one million beneficiaries in the next phase. Osinbajo said this on Tuesday when he responded to questions at a town hall meeting in Abuja. The vice-president said that N-Power was borne out of the growing need for government’s direct intervention in job creation “The idea of N-Power is supposed to be government own programme of direct employment and training. “At the moment, we have taken up to 500,000 and in the next phase, we are looking at another 200,000 and closely followed by another 300,000. “In all, we will be employing up to a million; and that will be the largest post-tertiary job programme in the entire Africa. “The reason why we have done this is because of the employment problems that we have, we may not be able to engage everybody but at least, government must give some direct provision of jobs,“ Osinbajo said. He further explained

The Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Health, Abdulaziz Abdullahi says about 20 to 30 per cent of Nigerians suffer from mental illness. He spoke at the Mental Health Action Committee and Stakeholders’ Workshop in Abuja on Monday where he said with a population of about 200 million, Nigeria had a high rate of mental illness which implies that Nigeria has about 40/ 60 million persons with mental illnesses. He said, “there are many different mental disorders, with different presentations. They are generally characterised by a combination of abnormal thoughts, perceptions, emotions, behaviour and relationships with others. Mental disorders include: Depression, bipolar affective disorder, schizophrenia and other psychoses, dementia, intellectual disabilities and developmental disorders including autism. In Nigeria, an estimated 20 to 30 per cent of our populations are believed to suffer from mental disorders. This is a very significant number considering Nigeria ha

The Senate Today adjourned sitting to November 20 following the inability of the upper chamber to form a quorum. The upper chamber was more than 10 but not up to 20 in the said session. This resolution was sequel to an adopted motion sponsored by senator Phillip Aduda representing the Federal Capital Territory, FCT. In his presentation, Adudua said, “Mr. President and my most respected colleagues, we have not formed the required number approved for the sitting to hold. The approved number of quorum is 38 but we are less than the requisite number. And, therefore, I most responsibly move a motion that the sitting be adjourned to November 20 to enable our colleagues to complete their oversight functions”. But when the Senate was about to rise in line with the adjournment resolution, members in attendance rose to 20. Firming up its resolution, Senate President, Bukola Saraki affirmed that the lack of quorum was for the oversight functions which a greater majority of members we

Former United States first lady, Michelle Obama, in a recent interview with 2020 spoke about her memoir, ‘Becoming’ in which she briefly mentioned smoking marijuana when she was young. When asked why she decided to include that information in the book, Obama replied, "that's what I did."  She went on to explain why she mentioned her brief time experimenting with marijuana, saying "that's part of the becoming story. Everybody had something that they had to work through, something that they were figuring out. So why would I hide that from the next generation?"  In the book, Michelle Obama also opened up on her struggles with infertility, miscarriage and how she was able to conceive her two daughters through IVF.

The All Progressives Congress, APC, has given reason it gave up the plan to impeach the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, following their defection. The APC, speaking through its National Auditor, Dr. George Moghalu, told Daily Sun that the rigid stipulations for the impeachment of the principal officers have compelled the ruling party to shelve the idea. Moghalu pointed out that though the party desires to impeach Dogara and Saraki, the prevailing circumstance made it impossible. Recall that the national leadership of the party had on different occasions, vowed to impeach the Senate President and the House of Representatives’ Speaker after their defection to the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. Asked if the ruling party has given up on the move, Moghalu said, “The situation is not about given up, the present reality is that as a law-abiding party, one thing is the wish, while another is the act itself. “We wish

Teleology has formally taken over the management of 9mobile. The company announced the constitution of a new board of directors for the company in Lagos on Monday. It said that the constitution of the new board followed the successful completion of the tenure of the former board appointed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and in fulfillment of the consequential transfer of final ownership to the new investors, Teleology Nigeria Limited. “We thank all out-going members of the board for helping to shepherd 9mobile through the critical transition phase it has passed through since July 2017 and wish them the very best in their future assignments. “For us, the composition of the new board of directors is another significant milestone, and this follows the issuance of final approval of no objection by the board of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to the effect that the technical and financial bids Teleology submitted for 9mobile met and satisfied all the regulatory

Antonio Conte has hit back at Sergio Ramos, after he was warned by the defender about becoming Real Madrid’s next manage The former Chelsea boss was one of the favourites to replace Julen Lopetegui, who was sacked by Madrid two weeks ago. But when asked about Conte’s potential rival and the Italian’s reputation of being a disciplinarian, Ramos said: “Respect is earned, it is not imposed.” Conte has since ruled himself out of the running to take a new job while the season is still ongoing. And the 49-year-old also issued a direct response to the warning he received from Ramos. “When a coach arrives at a team he must bring education and respect, something that he would expect from the players too,” Conte told Rai Sport. “When this goes wrong, the problems begin. “We Italian coaches have a great culture of work and when you join a new club you can’t change everything, you must try and do it very gradually. “Each coach must be a good tailor and adapt their beliefs to th

 Stan Lee, the creative dynamo who revolutionized the comic book and helped make billions for Hollywood by introducing human frailties in Marvel superheroes such as Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four and the Incredible Hulk, died Monday. He was 95. Lee was declared dead at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, according to Kirk Schenck, an attorney for Lee’s daughter, J.C. Lee. As the top writer at Marvel Comics and later as its publisher, Lee was widely considered the architect of the contemporary comic book. He revived the industry in the 1960s by offering the costumes and action craved by younger readers while insisting on sophisticated plots, college-level dialogue, satire, science fiction, even philosophy. Millions responded to the unlikely mix of realistic fantasy, and many of his characters, including Spider-Man, the Hulk and X-Men went on to become stars of blockbuster films. He won the National Medal of Arts in 2008. Recent projects Lee helped make possible rang

The Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University (ATBU) and Bauchi State University, Gadau, chapters of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) on Sunday criticized the alleged detention of the ATBU chapter chairman, Dr Adamu Babayo, by the Department of State Services (DSS). The Vice Chairman of the association, Dr Ibrahim Maina, who made this known at a joint press conference on Sunday in Bauchi, condemned the action Maina alleged that Babayo was detained by the DSS operatives on Sunday, when he was invited to the department’s headquarters in Bauchi. According to him the action was a violation of fundamental human rights and requested the DSS to explain the reasons behind the arrest. He said: “the ASUU Chairman, Adamu Babayo was invited through a Short Service Message (SMS) which is not a formal way of invitation. “On Friday he received a text message requesting him to report to the DSS office in Bauchi on Sunday. He went to the office together with some of the executives of t

Popular musician and actor, Olubankole Wellington popularly known as Banky W has finally joined politics. Banky W announced that he will be running for the position of House of Representatives in the 2019 general election. He made this known on Saturday night on his Instagram page when he was declared the flagbearer of the Modern Democratic Party (MDP) for Eti-Osa Federal House Of Representatives. On why he chose to contest, Banky W wrote; “They said we don’t have the money to run.. we say our strength lies in our numbers. They said we don’t have the structure, we say we will attempt to build it. They said “what if you lose”? I say, what if we win? “You see, my entire life has been a story of just dreaming dreams, praying about those dreams, setting goals, and working until they come true. I can live with trying and failing. I can not live with not trying. “So while we may not have a godfather, we do have God. And we have vision. And intellectual capacity. And integrity. A

The Seventy-eight children kidnapped from their boarding school in Cameroon two days ago have been freed. The group of 42 girls and 36 boys were abducted by gunmen with their school principal, a teacher and driver early on Monday from the Presbyterian Secondary School in Bamenda, in the northwest of the central African nation. After an intensive search, the students were released and returned to the school with their driver at 9:30 p.m. on Tuesday, according to teacher Vumesegah Peter Kogah. A military truck later transported the children to the governor's office. The school principal and a teacher are still being held captive, Rev. Fonki Samuel Forba, the moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Cameroon said. "Praise God 78 children and the driver have been released. The principal and one teacher are still with the kidnappers. Let us keep praying. For now we still do not know the kidnappers until we interview the students" Rev. Forba said. He added

The Federal government has completed the construction of the Nnamdi Azikiwe mausoleum which was started in 1996. The project initiated by Federal Government in honour of the first president of Nigeria in 1996, came to completion 22 years after its initial commencement. Posting photos of the new completed mausoleum, President Buhari's personal assistant on New Media, Bashir Ahmad wrote This is Nnamdi Azikiwe Mausoleum in Onitsha, Anambra State, abandoned since 1996 by previous governments and is now being completed by President @MBuhari. Pic 1. From 1996 - 2015 Pic 2. From 2015 - 2018

Veteran American hip-hop star, Missy Elliott, has emerged as the first female rapper nominated for the 2019 Songwriters Hall of Fame after she was announced among the nominees. Being the first female rapper nominated for the prestigious prize, the 47-year-old rapper could also become the third rapper to enter the organization following recent inductees Jay-Z and Jermaine Dupri. Joining Elliott as performing nominees are Mariah Carey, Chrissie Hynde, Vince Gill, Mike Love, Jimmy Cliff, Jeff Lynne, Cat Stevens, John Prine, Lloyd Price, Tommy James and the Eurythmics (Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart). Non-performing nominees are Jack Tempchin, Dean Dillon, Jerry Fuller, Tom T. Hall, Roger Nichols and Dallas Austin, who wrote hits for TLC, Madonna, Monica, Pink and Boyz II Men.

American professional boxer, Floyd Mayweather, has dramatically made a U-Turn and won't be fighting 20-year-old Japanese kickboxer,Tenshin Nasukawa anymore for his comeback fight. The 41-year-old had initially confirmed the bout for 31st of December 2018 during a press conference which took place on Sunday night in Tokyo. It was also understood that he revealed that he signed with Japanese mixed martial arts promotions company RIZIN Fighting Federation. After the announcement, his enemies, 50 Cent, Conor McGregor and many others blasted him for agreeing to fight a younger kickboxer. Taking to his Instagram account this night, Mayweather denied he agreed to an official bout with Tenshin Nasukawa. He wrote:  Now that I am back on U.S. soil after a long and disappointing trip to Tokyo, I now have the time to address you, my fans and the media in regard to the upcoming event on December 31st that was recently announced. First and foremost, I want it to be clear that I, F

Arsenal manager, Unai Emery, has warned Premier League giants, Chelsea and Manchester City that the Gunners were aiming to close the point-gap on the English topflight league log following his side’s 1-1 draw with Liverpool on Saturday. It was striker Alexandre Lacazette’s goal that earned Emery’s side a point at the Emirates Stadium after midfielder James Milner had fired Liverpool ahead. Emery said that Premier League was the first competition for his side and it was important for the Gunners to win against Chelsea and Man City when both side clash. “The Premier League is the first competition for us. It gives us the big regularity for the season – 38 matches,” FourFourTwo quoted Emery as saying at post-match. “It’s very important when you play against City, Chelsea and Liverpool and if you win it’s better. “But the other games are important also because three points are the same against Liverpool or Crystal Palace or next week against Wolves. Today is one test, how we a

Members of the Organised Labour, on Sunday, were absent at the reconciliatory meeting with the Federal Government over the non-implementation of the N30, 000 new National Minimum Wage for the workers in the country. Mr Boss Mustapha, Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) said on Sunday that the meeting was part of the exercise that ought to be undertaken as part of the ongoing negotiation. He said the meeting was to ensure a complete report to be submitted to the presidency on the issues of the new National Minimum Wage. Mustapha said that the Tripartite Committee has been working assiduously, but there were outstanding issues that needed to be dealt with, and that was the reason for the rescheduling of the meeting. “Basically, the only outstanding issue to be dealt with was the harmonisation of the 5th chapter of the report, and thereafter get the figures to be submitted to the government. “The inaugural speech by Mr President included some very salient poin

Lagos State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has presented a former Commissioner for Works, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat as the running mate to the party’s governorship candidate, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu for the 2019 elections. Hamzat was presented by the party’s state chairman, Hon. Tunde Balogun, during a press conference held at the party’s secretariat, which was attended by Sanwo-Olu, state deputy chairman, Mr. Sunny Ajose, vice chairman (Lagos East), Chief Kaoli Olusanya, secretary, Dr. Wale Ahmed and Publicity Secretary, Mr. Joe Igbokwe. Balogun said Sanwo-Olu and Hamzat were fantastic combination that will bring development to Lagos and build a Lagos that everybody will be proud of if voted for during the 2019 governorship elections. His words: “The highest decision making body of APC together with all the relevance stakeholders of APC in Lagos State have endorsed Dr. Kadiri Obafemi Hamzat as the running mate to the candidate of APC in Lagos State, Mr. Babajide Sanw