Labour Party Senators and House of Representatives members-elect will meet in Abuja on Friday to take a final decision on the candidates they will support in the race for the 10th National Assembly leadership. Otti who was meeting the LP members-elect for the first time, enjoined them to work for the interest of the people who were elected and the party. He added that their assignment at the National Assembly has already started with who they choose to elect in the forthcoming NASS leadership. “The National Assembly is on the verge of being inaugurated and leadership is expected to emerge both in the Senate and in the House of Representatives. To continue to enjoy the support of the people, depend on the way we conduct ourselves, especially our behaviour in the National Assembly.

In a recent development, a comprehensive fact-check conducted by DW has refuted the viral claim that Sweden has declared sex as a sport and initiated a global tournament with Greek participants. This misinformation has been propagated by numerous international media outlets, including the esteemed South African media platform IOL. The widespread coverage of this dubious claim has caught the attention of Anna Setzman, spokesperson for the Swedish Sports Confederation. In a written statement submitted to DW, Setzman unequivocally debunked the allegations, stating, “All this information is false.”Setzman emphasized the spread of false information in international media concerning Sweden and its sporting activities. Bratic’s application for membership in the Swedish Sports Confederation was submitted in January but was subsequently rejected in May.

The House of Representatives wound down on Wednesday without approving the loan request by the immediate-past President Muhammadu Buhari for the Federal Government to pay some judgment debts totalling approximately N543,594,989,247. The Chairman of the House Committee on Aids, Loans and Debt Management Ahmed Dayyabu, laid the report on the presidential request on Wednesday but the lawmakers resolved that work had not been concluded on it and stepped down its consideration till the 10th House. Buhari had last month, at the twilight of his administration, written to the National Assembly to seek approval for payment of judgment debts owed by the government to the tune of $566,754,584.31, £98,526,012.00 and N226,281,801,881.64. When the dollar is converted to N261,149,177,358.36 and the pound sterling is converted to N56,164,010,008.15, the debt is approximately N543,594,989,247. On the alleged loss of over $2.4bn in revenue from illegal sale of 48 million barrels of crude oil export in 2015, the committee said it found the allegation to be false.

The Catholic Priests in Kaduna State under the umbrella of the Nigerian Catholic Diocesan Priests Association (NCDPA), have demanded a more explanation regarding the situation and looking at the best way to avoid an impending religious war. According to a report by The Guardian, the Priests have written a petition to President Bola Tinubu and the State Governor, Uba Sani, to show their displeasure with El- Rufai' s statement. The protest letter by Kaduna, Zaria, and Kafanchan chapters of the body was signed by chairmen of Kaduna, Kafanchan, and Zaria dioceses, Rev. The Catholic Priests demand to know the stand of the President and the Kaduna State Governor over the statement, stressing that it' s clear that the former Governor intends to cause commotion across the country. It was also reported that the petition was also addressed to the pontiff in the Vatican.

Despite the voting power of women during the just concluded elections, the Gender and Constitution Reform Network (GECORN), Northwest zone has observed that only two women were elected in the whole of the zone, a member of the House of Assembly and a deputy governor. “This people’s hearing was attended by 60 participants drawn from the seven states of the Northwest Geopolitical Zone of Nigeria. It consisted mostly of women, some of whom contested in the just concluded 2023 elections; also party members, and civil society leaders. To this end, she observed that despite the voting power of women “the zone can only boast of two elected women in the 2023 election: a member of House of Assembly, and a Deputy Governor. Also, he said, out of the total 15,307 persons that contested for office in the just concluded 2023 elections nationwide, only 1,553 are women: a dismal 10%.

The National Bureau of Statistics’ Foreign Trade Statistics report, released on Monday, indicates a significant 40 per cent decrease in the value of traded manufactured goods in Q1 2023, which declined from N219bn in the corresponding quarter of the previous year to N131.1bn. The report stated the total trade of manufactured goods in Q1 stood at N2.5tn, representing 20.98 per cent of total trade. The major export goods in this category were ‘unwrought aluminium alloys’ exported to Japan worth N16.28bn. Exports by region showed that manufactured goods were mainly exported to Asia valued at N52.2bn, followed by manufactured goods exported to other African countries at N42.44bn and Europe valued at N24.78bn. Manufactured goods mainly imported were ‘used vehicles, with diesel or semidiesel engine, of cylinder capacity >2500cc’ from the United States and Canada valued at N59.5bn, N1.31bn, respectively, followed by ‘filters’ also imported from China worth N41bn.

Five persons were on Wednesday arraigned before a Magistrates’ Court sitting in Yaba, Lagos State for rape and conspiracy. The defendants include the victim’s two cousins aged 11 and 13 as well as her 44-year-old teacher who were alleged to have defiled her at different times. The victim’s mother and the mother of her two cousins were also arraigned for conspiracy. The teacher, Taofeek Davies, was also alleged to have defiled the victim in his house. According to Nurudeen, the offences contravened and are punishable under Sections 137 and 263 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State of Nigeria, 2015.

A group of suspected kidnap gangs has reportedly abducted four persons, including a member of vigilance group in the Asa local government area of Kwara state. NIGERIAN TRIBUNE investigations gathered that the abductors in their numbers ambushed some guests as they were heading home from a naming ceremony. It was also gathered that the incident occurred on Tuesday evening in Aboto community of the government area. Chairman of the vigilante in Kwara State, Saka Ibrahim, confirmed the incident in a telephone chat with the TriTribune newspapers on Thursday. “A neighbour, who had a naming ceremony for his new born child was taking some guests home after the programme when his car was ambushed.

During Gitex Africa (https://GITEXAfrica.com/), held in Morocco from 31 May – 2 June 2023, IR4LAB, a Saudi-based company specialized in disruptive technologies such as Blockchain and Artificial Intelligence., announced that it would be expanding its operations into Africa. The expansion is part of IR4LAB’s commitment to the African continent and their aim to spur innovation in deep technologies and implement use cases utilizing IR4LAB’s Blockchain solution, DocCerts as well as other solutions offered. According to Mckinsey & Company, Africa’ digital economy should top $712 billion by 2050 fostered by its youthful population, smartphone adoption, and internet penetration. About IR4LAB:Saudi-Based innovation-driven company specialized in disruptive technologies such as Blockchain and Artificial Intelligence. IR4LAB is Saudi Aramco’s First Blockchain Technology investment in Saudi Arabia.

The percentage of diasporan Nigerians with National Identification Numbers rose to 25.17 per cent in May 2023. The National Identity Management Commission has registered 427,962 diasporan Nigerians since it launched its diaspora enrolment exercise in 2019. There were at least 1.7 million Nigerians living in the diaspora according to the World Bank. Without NINs, diasporan Nigerians could not renew their passports, and enrolment was not free. The top five states with NIN enrolments are Lagos with 10.92 million, Kano with 8.84 million, Kaduna with 6.19 million, Ogun with 4.19 million, Oyo with 3.89 million.

Mark Zuckerberg’s social media company, Meta Platforms Inc. has added a new feature to WhatsApp which allow users to follow people and organisations that matter to them. The company revealed this in a blog post to alert its clients and Zuckerberg also corroborated this on Facebook on Thursday. “Today we’re announcing WhatsApp Channels – – a private way to follow people and organizations that matter to you, right within WhatsApp. We are starting in Singapore and Colombia, but will roll out to everyone later this year,” he wrote.

The wife of Abia State Governor, Mrs Priscilla Otti, has assured that appropriate action is being taken to rehabilitate the inmates rescued from a baby factory located at Umunkpeyi, Nvosi, in the Isialangwa South Local Government Area of Abia State. Mrs Otti gave the assurance when she paid an unscheduled visit to the young girls at Madonna College of Health Technology, Olokoro, Umuahia, where they are being taken care of. Speaking earlier, while receiving the wife of the governor to the college, the Provost, Madonna College of Health Technology, Olokoro, Rev. Christian Anokwuru, narrated that the girls were brought to the facility following their rescue by the state government a few days ago. He disclosed that the girls, numbering about 20, are pregnant and have undergone necessary medical tests to determine their health status.

Dansol High School has unveiled a virtual school in conjunction with Edves, an education online portal, to enhance students’ educational opportunity and broaden their learning experience. The initiative, tagged ‘Personalised Learning’ (PL) by Edves, allows teachers to create engaging content and provide students with access to pre-recorded lessons, participate in live classes and ensure a comprehensive and interactive learning experience. The director assured that the school would ensure the platform continues to deliver on quality through constant monitoring and upgrades to the system. He said the firm decided to work with the school because it has consistently delivered quality teaching for several years. He explained that the platform would provide personalised learning that allows students to consume recorded content online and also request virtual sessions with the teachers to ask questions and seek clarifications.

Some suspected criminals robbing Point of Sales (PoS) operators in parts of Delta State were, on Tuesday, arrested by police operatives. The suspects, Moses Musa, 27, Kelin and Isah, were arrested at about 12:30 P.M along Mosogar/Oghara Expressway by policemen from Mosogar Division, Ethiope West Local Government Area of the state. “The suspects on sighting the patrol team fled into a nearby bush. “One of the suspects, Moses Musa, was arrested with a locally-made pistol and a live cartridge while the other two suspects escaped into the bush. “The suspect is in custody, and investigation is ongoing,” Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), DSP Bright Edafe, noted.

A man, Ali Abubakar, who was dragged to a Shari’a court sitting in Kaduna by his wife, Ajinomo Ohunenene-Ummi, on Wednesday, was absent owing to lack of transport fare to the court. According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Mr Abubakar had sent words through the court messenger, Tajuddeen Saidu, that he would not be available for the hearing because he does not have transport fare from Abuja to Kaduna. She also prayed the court to grant her custody of their one-year-old daughter, and for the court to order the defendant to pay N20,000 monthly feeding allowance. The judge, Abdulrahman Isiyaku, ordered that the court messenger and the petitioner to call Mr Abubakar on phone so that he can respond to the claims. The judge also ordered Mr Abubakar to continue taking care of the child’s health, clothing and education until she reaches school age.