Daily News Roundup

The Presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) Peter Obi has finally unveiled his manifesto titled “Obi/Baba-Ahmed Pact with Nigerians.” the Manifesto promises seven key priority areas that he said are needed to jump-start the economy and move the country from consumption to production.

. The Nigerian Navy has accused the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited of not revealing the true cause(s) of crude oil theft in the country but reeling out exaggerated figures to save its face. This disclosure was made to the Senate Committee on Economic and Financial Crimes by the Navy Chief of Training and Operations, Rear Admiral Solomon Agada, during an interactive briefing of the relevant agencies.

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. After 72 hours in captivity, abductors of the traditional ruler of Oso Ajowa-Akoko, Oba Clement Olukotun, in the Akoko North-West Local Government Area of Ondo State, have contacted his family, demanding N100m ransom for his release.
Oba Jimoh was abducted on Thursday at about 10.15pm, at his residence by some armed men who took him to an unknown destination.

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Unknown gunmen shot three residents in Abule-Oko, Agbado, Olaogun and Ijoko communities in the Ifo Local Government Area of Ogun State. The incident reportedly occurred on Friday at about 8:30am when the gunmen stormed the communities. The Commander of the So-Safe Corps in Ogun State, Soji Ganzallo, confirmed the incident on Saturday.


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. Former presidential aspirant, Pat Utomi, yesterday claimed two former Heads of State are supporters of the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi. Utomi stated this while speaking at a town hall meeting on Friday, organised by the Yell Out Nigeria for Good Governance group in Abuja.


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. The governors of the 36 states under the auspices of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum have described as a surprise, the Minister of State for Budget and National Planning, Clement Agba’s claims that they were responsible for the rising poverty index in the country. They said the claim by the minister that the rural populace had been abandoned by the governors is very far from the truth.


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Lagos State governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has expressed optimism that he would win next year’s governorship election in the state because of his performance in the first term. The governor, who made this expression at the official flag off of his campaign held at the Mobolaji Johnson Arena, Onikan, yesterday, said his scorecard would earn him a second term.

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. The Nigerian military has lambasted Reuters, an international news agency, for what it described as mercenary journalism. It said Reuters wrote that it was working on a series of stories about purported actions of the Nigerian military during the government’s 13-year war against Islamist insurgents in the country’s North East.

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 The Osun State Election Petition Tribunal yesterday admitted in evidence the file with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) containing the secondary school certificate and testimonial of Governor Ademola Adeleke. This is just as the petitioners, Mr. Adegboyega Oyetola and the All Progressives Congress (APC), closed the prosecution of the matter, leaving the respondents to state their defence.


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Vice President Yemi Osinbajo (SAN) will leave Abuja today for the Socialist Republic of Vietnam for high-level bilateral engagements in the Southeast nation. Osinbajo will meet with the President of Vietnam, President Nguyn Xuân Phúc; Vice President Vo Thi Aah Xuan, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, other government officials, and the business community.

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Argentina captain, Lionel Messi, has said he will not celebrate his personal milestone of reaching 1,000 professional matches.

Messi was again on the scoresheet as Argentina beat Australia 2-1 in the last 16 of the 2022 World Cup.

The 35-year-old has admitted his overriding emotion was a relief to have passed a physical test just 48 hours after their last group stage match.

Despite reaching yet another career milestone and surpassing Diego Maradona’s mark of eight World Cup goals, Messi is not recognising this personal achievement.

When asked on Argentine TV whether he was going to celebrate his 1,000th match, Messi answered: “No, truly no. This was a tough game, tough game, we didn’t have much rest, we had not really recovered well. It was a very physical game as well.

“When we found out we had to play again in three days, we said it was crazy and not enough rest, but at the same time we wanted to be here for what it feels like and for what this represents and for our fans.”

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