Movies / News

Ray Liotta dies at 67

According to multiple media outlets, Liotta was on set filming the movie ‘Dangerous Waters’ before his shocking demise.

The American actor was best known for playing Henry Hill, a mobster in Martin Scorsese’s 1990 gangster film ‘Goodfellas’

Liotta was notable for roles like Ray Sinclair in Jonathan Demme’s ‘Something Wild’ (1986). The role earned him his first Golden Globe nomination.

The actor went on to star as baseball player Shoeless Joe Jackson in the Kevin Costner-starrer ‘Field of Dreams’ (1989) and as the corrupt cop Matt Wozniak on the 2016-18 NBC cop drama ‘Shades of Blues’ alongside Jennifer Lopez.

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News / politics

Osinachi: FG files 23-count charges against her husband

The Federal Government has filed 23-count charges against Peter Nwachukwu, the husband of late popular gospel artist, Osinachi.

Recall that the “Ekwueme” crooner died on April 8, 2023 after her husband allegedly assaulted her several times.

Nwachukwu was charged under sections 104 and 379 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015, by the Attorney-General of the Federation.

The defendant was charged with culpable homicide contrary to section 221 of the Penal Code, which is punishable with death. The case, with charge number: CR/199/2022, was filed at the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja on May 20, 2022 by the Head, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence, Department of Public Prosecutions of the Federation, Ministry of Justice, Yewande Gbola-Awopetun.

The 42-year-old musician died after spending days at an undisclosed hospital in Abuja.

Nwachukwu was consequently arrested by the police after colleagues of Osinachi, who was a lead singer at the Dunamis International Headquarters, Abuja, accused him of beating her.

Count one reads: “That you Peter Nwachukwu, 56, male, on the 8th of April, 2022 at Aco Estate, opposite police station, Lugbe, Abuja, FCT, within the jurisdiction of this honorable court, did commit an offence to with: culpable homicide punishable with death in that you caused the death of Mrs Osinachi Nwachukwu by your various acts of violence and aggravated assault with the knowledge that her death would be the probable consequence of your acts.”

Count two reads: “Statement of offence: Wilfully placing a person in fear of physical injury contrary to section 4(1) of the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act, 2015 and punishable under the same section of the Act.”…

News / politics

Jonathan to APC, PDP: Your ongoing primaries a mess

Nigeria’s former President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, has castigated the country’s political parties for the mess they have made of their ongoing primaries for the 2023 elections.

The Peoples Democratic Party and All Progressives Congress are among the parties conducting their primaries now.

Jonathan, who spoke on Thursday in Abuja at the launch of a book titled: “Political Party Governance,” authored by Dr. Mohammed Wakil, a former Minister of State for Power, said: “These whole primaries going on across the country is a mess. “This is not a standard practice. “The process has failed.

“We cannot use the process to elect president, governors, senators and House of Representatives members and others.

“The process is already failed, which is not good for the country.

“But we will manage and move on.

“We pray that good people should come.

“I hope that what happened this year, 2022, will not happen again in this country.”…

Basket Ball / Sports

Golden State Warriors advance to their 6th NBA Finals in 8 years with a win against the Dallas Mavericks

Klay Thompson shimmied his way to 32 points, and the Golden State Warriors advanced to their sixth NBA Finals in eight seasons by beating the Dallas Mavericks 120-110 in Game 5 of the Western Conference finals Thursday night.

Thompson scored 19 points in the first half, including a 3-pointer that he punctuated with teammate Stephen Curry’s signature shake as the Warriors raced out to a 17-point halftime lead and coasted the rest of the way.

Andrew Wiggins added 18 points and 10 rebounds, Draymond Green scored 17 points and Curry had 15 points and nine assists for the Warriors.

Luka Doncic overcame a slow start to score 28 points for the Mavericks. Spencer Dinwiddie added 26.

After missing the playoffs in 2020 and ‘21 in back-to back injury-plagued seasons, the Warriors are returning to a familiar stage. They are the first team to make six finals appearances in an eight-year span since the Michael Jordan-led Chicago Bulls had a pair of three-peats from 1991-93 and 1996-98.

The Warriors will host the winner of the Eastern Conference finals between the Boston Celtics and Miami Heat on June 2 in Game 1 of the NBA Finals. The Celtics hold a 3-2 lead heading into Game 6 at home Friday.

The Warriors followed their pattern from the first two rounds by bouncing back after squandering a chance to end a series on the road by winning at home. The Warriors are 9-0 at the Chase Center this postseason, tying the 2017 team for the the most consecutive home wins in a single postseason in NBA history.

The star this game was Thompson, who sat out the last two seasons with injuries but showed flashes of his old self in this clincher.

After making just seven 3-pointers in the first four games of the series, Thompson had eight. He gave the Warriors a 13-point lead in the first half when he hit one from the corner before dancing and added two early in the third quarter for a 23-point lead.

The Mavericks cut a …

Football / Sports

Jose Mourinho’s Giallorossi take home UEFA Conference League title

Jose Mourinho has done it again. The Special One led his AS Roma side to its first title since 2008 and the first UEFA trophy won in club history. The Giallorossi defeated Feyenoord, 1-0, in the UEFA Europa Conference League final in Tirana, Albania, on Wednesday. Nicolo Zaniolo scored the winning goal in the inaugural tournament in the 32nd minute that helped send Giallorossi fans into a frenzy.

The last time AS Roma won any silverware came in 2008 when they won the Coppa Italia under Luciano Spalletti. They also lost their previous two European finals at the hands of Liverpool in the 1984 European Cup and Inter Milan in the 1991 UEFA Cup. It took them 31 years to play another final, but this time the trophy is going back to Rome, where tens of thousands of fans watched the match inside the Stadio Olimpico. With the win, AS Roma have clinched a spot in next season’s UEFA Europa League group stage, which you can stream directly on Paramount+.

This is Mourinho’s fifth European final and trophy. He’s never lost a major UEFA final as manager. He has been triumphant in each of the previous four – with Porto in the 2003 UEFA Cup and 2004 UEFA Champions League, Inter in the 2010 UEFA Champions League and Manchester United in the 2017 UEFA Europa League. He has, however, lost two UEFA Super Cups. For the Portuguese coach as well as Roma fans, Wednesday will go down as a an unforgettable night.

The first half wasn’t exciting as we could expect from these two sides, but it produced the only goal of the night. Feyenoord tried to maintain possession time and Mourinho’s side didn’t take many risks. There were not many chances, with only three shots on target overall in the first 45 minutes. However, AS Roma midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan, who had just worked his way back to fitness, was forced to go off with an injury and was replaced by Sergio Oliveira. The 32nd minute gave us the …

News / politics

Abacha’s son wins Kano PDP governorship primaries

Alhaji Muhammad Abacha, son of former military leader, late General Sani Abacha, has emerged the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party for the 2023 general election in Kano State.

He polled 736 votes to defeat Jafar Sani-Bello, who scored 710 votes in the primaries, on Wednesday in Kano State.

Announcing the results, the Returning Officer, Hajiya Amina Garba, declared Abacha as the winner of the primaries having scored 736 votes.

The Chairman the Electoral Committee, Alhaji Mohammed Jamu, said the primaries were legally conducted with validly-elected delegates and supervised by the Independent National Electoral Commission, police and Department of State Services operatives.…

Basket Ball / Sports

Jaylen Brown leads Celtics’ second-half turnaround as Boston beats Miami Heat

The Celtics found themselves trailing the Heat by five, on the road, at halftime of Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals Wednesday night.

And yet, the Celtics felt just fine. They couldn’t have played much worse in the first half, committing 10 turnovers and giving up nine offensive rebounds to Miami — which allowed the Heat to take 14 extra shots.

“We weren’t playing our best, in a lot of ways,” Celtics coach Ime Udoka said. “Sometimes, all it takes is one guy getting back to his average game.”

No one was playing worse than Jaylen Brown. He went 2-for-7 from the field and committed four turnovers — all in the first quarter. Then the second half started. And as it played out, Brown wound up being the face of the team’s turnaround.

Brown’s 19-point, 0-turnover second half — coupled with an 18-point second half from Jayson Tatum — allowed Boston to finally break open what was a rock fight in the first half, as the Celtics went on to win 93-80 over the Heat, moving Boston to within one victory of its first trip to the NBA Finals in 12 years.

“Same player,” Brown said from the first half to the second. “Just had to get settled in. That’s it. As the game wears on, some of that energy, some of that intensity starts to wear off, so the game opens up a little bit. The game opened up for me in the second half.

“I didn’t want to get down. I didn’t want to look into the past, think that this game was over. My team needed me to come out and respond.

“First half was s—. Threw it away. [Just] come out, play basketball in the second half.”

It was unclear whether Boston was going to be able to follow through on Brown’s instructions after yet another ugly stretch of basketball in this series for the Celtics in the first half of Game 5. The difference from the other periods when Boston has gone off the …

Sports / Tennis

Emma Raducanu out of French Open after Aliaksandra Sasnovich fightback

Emma Raducanu ran out of steam as her French Open dream was ended in the second round by Aliaksandra Sasnovich.

The British number one looked in fine shape after an excellent first set, but she was unable to maintain that early momentum and slipped to a 3-6 6-1 6-1 defeat.

Sasnovich, the world number 47 from Belarus, had emphatically won their only previous meeting, 6-2 6-4 in Indian Wells last October in Raducanu’s first match after winning the US Open.

But a pumped-up Raducanu broke her opponent in the fifth game of the opening set. Sending Sasnovich wide whenever possible, the 19-year-old from Kent unleashed a couple of fearsome backhands and finished the job with a blistering forehand.

A second break wrapped up the opening set before a wobbly start to the second, including a pair of double faults – her first of the match – saw Sasnovich snatch a double break and a 4-0 lead.

Raducanu’s winners had dried up; she hit just four to Sasnovich’s 19 in a stinker of a set as the 28-year-old from Minsk levelled the match.

A reset was required and, after a quick departure from the court, Raducanu reached 30-30 on the Sasnovich serve only to dump a backhand into the net, prompting to  cover her face with her racket in frustration.

Nevertheless, the fist pumps were back as she saved a break point to hold for 1-1.

But game three was to prove pivotal, Sasnovich fending off five break points amid seven deuces to hold, and moments later Raducanu mistimed a forehand and found herself a break down.

Sasnovich was now in complete control with Raducanu unable to stem the flow of winners, and she went on to run away with the set and reach the third round for the first time.…

Foreign / Movies / News / politics / War

Actor Morgan Freeman has been banned from Russia

Although many people around the world consider him to have the voice of God, with a booming baritone that may save or damn a movie, this did not stop the Russians from naming Freeman in a list released by the Russian government of more than 900 Americans who have been banned from entering the country for being “anti-Russian.”

The un-Free man when it comes to visiting Russia, was blacklisted (ironically on a list full of whites) due to his role in the creation of a video slamming the Russian government’s involvement in the United States’ 2016 presidential election.

The Stand by Me star directed and narrated the video, which was released in 2017, and also features fellow actor Rob Reiner.

Reiner, naturally, was also on the ban list.

President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, former U.S. Secretary of State and First Lady Hillary Clinton, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg along with three deceased U.S. Senators, including John McCain, were on the list.

Regarding the McCain and the other deceased senators, this could be Russian President Vladmir Putin’s way of ensuring that, in this world or the next, he will find you like Liam Neeson promised in the movie Taken.

“In the context of responding to the constantly imposed anti-Russian sanctions by the United States and in connection with incoming requests about the personal composition of our national ‘stop list,’ the Russian Foreign Ministry publishes a list of American citizens who are permanently banned from entering the Russian Federation,” the list reads.

“We emphasize that the hostile actions taken by Washington, which boomerang against the United States itself, will continue to receive a proper rebuff. Russian counter-sanctions are forced and aimed at forcing the ruling American regime, which is trying to impose a neo-colonial “rules-based world order” on the rest of the world, to change its behavior, recognising new geopolitical realities.”

Freeman will soon be starring in a movie called “A Good Person”, which Putin would probably rename “A Good Person to be on the Ban List”, but

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Movies / News

Warner Bros. denies considering replacing Amber Heard in ‘Aquaman 2’ over domestic violence

Hamanda testified in court that Depp’s allegations played no role in the production considering her replacement for the film’s sequel. While Warner Bros. did consider replacing Heard, it was over a lack of chemistry between lead star Jason Momoa and the actress.

According to Hamanda, the studio delayed on its choice for several weeks as they considered whether to recast Heard’s character Mena. He said: “They didn’t have a lot of chemistry together.

“Editorially they were able to make that relationship work in the first movie, but there was a concern that it took a lot of effort to get there.”

The executive further revealed in his testimony that the production eventually created it using movie magic and the film score.

Variety reports that Heard was paid $1 million for the first ‘Aquaman’ and $2 million for the sequel. Her lawyers have argued that she should have been able to negotiate for more money despite the sum being consistent with her original contract.

They claim that the backlash from Johnny Depp’s allegations cost her that opportunity in a bid to claim losses. Heard is seeking $100 million in a defamation counterclaim against Depp.

The estranged couple have been in court for six weeks sharing shocking details of their toxic 15-month marriage.

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News / politics

Osinbajo, Lawan, Umahi consult APC delegates in Imo

Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, Senate President, Ahmed Lawan, and Gov. Dave Umahi of Ebonyi have consulted with delegates of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Imo.

The trio consulted with the delegates in separate meetings in Owerri, the Imo capital, on Tuesday, ahead of the APC’s presidential primaries slated for May 29.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that Osinbajo met with delegates from Abia and Ebonyi states in a closed-door session. Lawan, who consulted with the delegates at the party’s secretariat in Owerri, pledged to fully accommodate the interests of the South-East geo-political zone, if elected president. He thanked Gov. Hope Uzodimma for his “excellent leadership skills” in Imo and the South-East, promising not to let Nigerians down.

Also speaking in the course of his consultation, Gov. Umahi pledged to make Nigeria proud if elected president of the nation in 2023.

He assured that his developmental strides in Ebonyi were only a glimpse of his planned developmental initiatives for Nigeria.

“It is with a deep sense of responsibility and humility that I inform you of my intention to contest for the office of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on the platform of the All Progressives Congress come 2023.

“If elected President, we shall run a participatory government and, together, develop policy frameworks that will enhance the physical and social environment and tackle corruption and insecurity.

“I will make you proud as president of Nigeria come 2023. The transformation you see in Ebonyi is a microcosm of the macrocosm of Nigeria’s attainment come 2023.

“We shall address squarely, the problems that deter the growth of our economy, especially through the creation of critical infrastructure and manpower development,” he said.…

Basket Ball / Sports

Luka Doncic leads Dallas Mavericks to victory against Golden State Warriors to avoid WCF sweep

The Dallas Mavericks staved off elimination and avoided a series sweep in the Western Conference Finals, as Luka Doncic led his team to a 119-109 win over the Golden State Warriors.

Ahead of Game 4, a moment of silence was held for “those who lost their lives in multiple tragedies in our home state,” referencing a fatal accident from Sunday and Tuesday’s shooting of an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas.
On Tuesday, a gunman clad in body armor rushed his way into the school and opened fire on classrooms of young children, killing 19 students and two adults, officials said.
After a somber and moving pregame, the importance of basketball seemed significantly diminished — indeed, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr refused to speak about basketball at all in his pregame press conference — but these two teams had to play regardless.
Doncic had a somewhat inefficient shooting night — shooting 38% from the floor and 27% from three-point range — but led the Mavericks with 30 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists, as well as registering two steals and two blocks.
After Doncic’s fellow starters offered no support whatsoever in the Game 3 defeat, Dorian Finney-Smith came up big in Game 4 with 23 points on 69% shooting, while Reggie Bullock and Jalen Brunson scored 18 and 15 respectively.
The win cuts Golden State’s series lead to 3-1, but no team in the NBA’s 75-year history has come back from a 3-0 deficit in the playoffs in 146 attempts. “Our defense was amazing today,” Doncic told reporters. “That’s how we’ve got to play; when we play like this, we’re a dangerous team.
“You never know,” he added when asked if Dallas could still win the series. “We’re going to stick together. As I said, we’re going to believe.
“This is one and, straight away, we’ve got to think of the next one. It’s going to be really tough with Golden State, we know that, but we have to stay together.”
Dallas’ defense really hindered the Warriors’ shooting ability, with Steph
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Awards / Entertainment / Music

Lojay, Ruger, Zinoleesky, others nominated for Headies Next Rated Award 2022

The Next Rated, the most contentious category in the Headies, appears to be on track this year, with no unexpected nominations. All of the artists nominated this year have had a truly impactful year, releasing songs that have exposed them to millions of fans worldwide, indicating their potential to truly take over the world in the months or years to come.

This year, debutants such as Ayra Starr, Ruger, and Lojay were all nominated for Next Rated.

The Next Rated This category is a voting category for the most promising act (with an EP or Album) in the year under review. Below are the albums nominated this year.

  1. AYRA STARR
  2. BNXN
  3. LOJAY
  4. RUGER
  5. ZINOLEESKY

The Headies Awards show is scheduled to hold on Sunday 4th September, 2022 at the COBB Energy Performing Arts Center in Atlanta, USA.

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Basket Ball / Sports

Boston Celtics’ ‘sense of urgency’ from start to finish propels Game 4 blowout of Miami Heat to even East finals

When things have gone poorly for the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference finals, it has been when they’ve lost focus and allowed Miami to speed them up and turn them over, leading to fast-break points — the one consistent way the Heat have scored in this series.

That was the formula Miami used to fuel its victories in Games 1 and 3. And so, heading into Game 4, Boston knew that in order to even this series at two wins apiece, it would have to avoid falling into those same bad habits once again. Mission accomplished.

The Celtics were utterly dominant at both ends from start to finish on Monday night. Boston scored the first eight points and never looked back, cruising to a wire-to-wire 102-82 victory in front of a sellout crowd at TD Garden to send this series back to the shores of Biscayne Bay for Game 5 on Wednesday, with both teams two wins away from a trip to the NBA Finals.

“Urgency,” said Jayson Tatum, who led all scorers with 31 points, when asked to describe Boston’s mindset entering Game 4. “That was a focal point coming into this game, to just have a sense of urgency on both ends of the floor, from start to finish. Really starting the game better, obviously, than we did last game. That’s something that we talked about and something that we executed tonight.”

In a series that has seen each game swing wildly from one direction to the other, it took about 10 seconds to realize Game 4 would follow a similar pattern. Boston immediately jumped out to an 8-0 lead before Miami scored a single point; and the Celtics eventually took an 18-1 lead before the Heat finally made their first field goal with 3:22 remaining in the first quarter when Victor Oladipo buried a 3-pointer.

By then, Miami had missed 14 consecutive shots to open the game, setting a tone for all that was to come over the final 40 minutes. The Heat simply never got …

BBNaija / Entertainment / News

BBNaija Reunion Teaser

The Reunion show will launch exclusively on DSTV and GOTV on June 2, 2022 with Ebuka Obi-Uchendu as host. Confirming the show’s premiere, Ebuka shared moments from the show featuring housemates in near fisticuffs. There is currently no talk of the Reunion heading to streaming via Showmax.

Meanwhile auditions for BBNaija season seven are ongoing and expected to wrap up on May 30.

Watch the teaser:

 

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Entertainment / News

Kourtney Kardashian changes last name to ‘Barker’ on Instagram

Kourtney Kardashian and her drummer hubby Travis Baker had a star-studded wedding over the weekend. A look on the reality TV star’s IG page shows that she now goes by the name, Kourtney Kardashian Barker.

It is not clear if the mother of three has also changed her name legally or plans to do it in the future.

Baker and the oldest Kardashian had their beautiful wedding ceremony in Italy over the weekend. They had earlier had a court wedding at the downtown courthouse on Anacapa.

It was attended by the Kardashian’s grandmother, Maa mony Jo “MJ” Campbell, and Barker’s father, Randy, could be seen standing by their sides.

This is coming a month after the couple had a fake wedding ceremony in Las Vegas.

According to PageSix, the couple had a ceremony but there was nothing legal about it, as they never got a marriage license, sources familiar with the situation revealed.

“They had a ceremony, but on paper, it’s not legal yet,” the source revealed.

The records of marriage licenses in that district also revealed the couple never had any nuptials.

If the marriage had taken place it would have been Kourtney’s first marriage and Baker’s third attempt at marriage.

Kardashian and Barker got engaged during a beachfront proposal in October 2021 after dating for about nine months.

Kourtney has three children with ex Scott Disick, and Barker shares two kids with ex-wife Shanna Moakler.

Baker proposed to Kourtney in 2021 in a beautiful, expensive and intimate ceremony.

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Sports / Tennis

Rafael Nadal takes massive Major record from Roger Federer

Since the start of the Open era, 29 players have achieved at least 106 Major victories. Rafael Nadal is among the leaders with 299 triumphs on the most significant scene. One hundred six of those have come in 18 editions of Roland Garros, with the Spaniard writing the record books as the most dominant figure at a single Major.

Nadal made a debut in Paris at 18 in 2005 and lifted the trophy as the last teenager with a Major crown. Nadal has won 13 of the previous 17 editions of Roland Garros, suffering only three losses and claiming 106 wins from 109 encounters!

Rafa’s 106th Parisian victory came in the opening round against Jordan Thompson, and he earned a massive record. The Spaniard became the first player with 106 triumphs at a single Major, leaving Roger Federer’s 105 Wimbledon wins behind him.

Struggling with a foot injury before the tournament, Rafa looked good on Court Philippe-Chatrier, playing well on serve and return in a 6-2, 6-2, 6-2 victory in two hours and two minutes.

Rafael Nadal became the first player with 106 victories at a single Major.

Nadal dropped 16 points behind the initial shot and got broken once.

Thompson failed to follow that pace in his games, losing over half of the points and suffering seven breaks from 11 chances offered to Nadal. The Spaniard lost five points behind the initial shot in the opener, defending a lone break point and stealing the rival’s serve twice for 6-2.

Rafa grabbed a break in the third game with a backhand drive-volley winner for an early advantage. The Spaniard hammered a forehand down the line winner in game four to bring it home at love and open a 3-1 gap. Rafa forced Jordan’s error in the fifth game to deliver his second break and extend the gap.

Nadal fended off a break chance with a drop shot winner and forced Thompson’s mistake to move 5-1 ahead. Rafa held at love with an ace in game eight for 6-2 in 37 …

Sports / Tennis

Naomi Osaka suffers first-round loss to Amanda Anisimova in French Open

Naomi Osaka’s return to the French Open ended in the first round on Monday, and the four-time Grand Slam winner said she is leaning toward not playing at Wimbledon.

After she lost her opening match to Amanda Anisimova 7-5, 6-4 at Roland Garros on Court Suzanne Lenglen, Osaka was asked about whether the collective decision to remove ranking points from Wimbledon would influence her decision on whether to compete at the next Grand Slam on the circuit.

“I’m not 100 percent sure if I’m going to go there [to Wimbledon],” Osaka said. “I would love to go just to get some experience on the grass court, but, like at the same time for me, it’s kind of like — I don’t want to say pointless, no pun intended, but I’m the type of player that gets motivated by, like, seeing my ranking go up or like, you know, stuff like that. So I think the intention was really good, but the execution is kind of all over the place. When later asked more on what her thoughts were ahead of Wimbledon, she said, “Yeah, like for me, I’m not sure why but, like, I feel like if I play Wimbledon without points, it’s more like an exhibition. I know this isn’t true, right? But my brain just like feels that way. Whenever I think like something is like an exhibition, I just can’t go at it 100 percent. I didn’t even make my decision yet, but I’m leaning more towards not playing given the current circumstances but, you know, that might change.”

Osaka is a four-time Grand Slam champion and former world No. 1 who took two mental health breaks last season. That included one that began when she withdrew before her second-round match at the 2021 French Open. Anisimova is a 20-year-old American who reached the French Open semifinals in 2019. She also beat Osaka in the third round at the Australian Open in January.

On Monday morning in Paris, Osaka double-faulted twice on break point, once in each …

Law / News / politics

Falana to Minister of Finance: You lack powers to suspend AGF

Human Rights lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN), has told the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, that she lacks the power to suspend the Accountant-General of the Federation, Ahmed Idris, over allegations of fraud.

Falana spoke amid allegations Idris was under probe for N80 billion fraud by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

He said it was only President Muhammadu Buhari that has such powers to suspend the AGF.

He said: “In exercise of his powers under section 171 of the Constitution, President Buhari appointed Ahmed Idris as the Accountant-General of the Federation on June 25, 2015. Upon the expiration of 4-year tenure, Mr Idris was reappointed as the Accountant-General of the Federation by the President on June 19, 2019. “It is submitted that by the combined effect of section 320 of the Constitution and section 11 of the Interpretation Act, it is the exclusive constitutional responsibility of President Buhari to suspend Mr Idris as the Accountant-General of the Federation.

“Specifically, section 11(1) (b) of the Interpretation Act provides that ‘Where an enactment confers a power to appoint a person either to an office or to exercise any functions, whether for a specified period or not, the power includes the power to remove or suspend him.’

“From the foregoing, it is undoubtedly clear that it is only the President who appointed Mr Idris as the Accountant-General of the Federation and reappointed him to the office that is constitutionally empowered to suspend him or interdict him pending his investigation and prosecution by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

“I believe that the Minister of Finance knows or ought to know that she lacks the power to suspend Mr Idris from duty since did not appoint or reappoint him as the Accountant-General of the Federation.

It is hoped that the Federal Government has not deliberately played into the hands of Mr Idris to provide a legal escape route for him as he may soon challenge his suspension in the National Industrial Court. Since the action of the Minister is illegal …

News / politics

Osinbajo group to Tinubu: VP won’t step down for you

The umbrella organization of all pro-Yemi Osinbajo support groups, The Progressive Project, has said that Vice President Yemi Osinbajo will not step down for the National Leader of the All Progressives Congress in the race for the 2023 presidential ticket.

The TPP Director of Operations, Alhaji Usman Aliyu Usman, stated this amid suggestion Osinbajo will step down for Tinubu ahead of the party’s primaries.

Usman said in a statement on Sunday that “some paid agents and other supporters who feel threatened by the candidature of Professor Osinbajo seem determined for a gutter fight which Osinbajo supporters cannot join”.

He said: “One of our visible supporters, Professor Olusola Adeyeye, a two-term Senator who represented Osun Central Senatorial District between 2011 to 2019 made some weighty statements about the APC presidential primaries on Saturday and by Sunday, really baseless and mischievous anti-Osinbajo statements began circulating. “Unfortunately, one of these came from Mr. Daniel Bwala, an aide to Deputy Senate President, Senator (Ovie) Omo-Agege who currently appears to moonlight as spokesman for the Bola Tinubu campaign.

“Specifically, without any proof, Mr. Bwala started circulating a video clip with claims that Professor Yemi Osinbajo is ‘allegedly planning to step down for Asiwaju’; Mr. Bwala had no evidence and he ought to know better than going to town with such.

“Without doubt, Professor Yemi Osinbajo is still riding high in the race and our decision not to interfere in some camps’ deliberate spread of illusion and untruths is only motivated by our genuine confidence in our candidate’s prospects.

“As stated long ago, no group linked to TPP will join any individual or group in playing gutter politics or smearing others but we need to unequivocally state that Professor Yemi Osinbajo is not contemplating any measure of capitulation to any candidate.

“While we are sworn to total allegiance to the Constitution, patriotic values and the spirit of good sportsmanship, we denounce the misleading information and unbecoming tricks that some supporters in other presidential candidates’ camps embrace so eagerly.

“We denounce too, the baseless ad unhelpful information …