China has a new richest person and it’s the entrepreneur behind the app TikTok.

Zhang Yiming, 41, co-founder of TikTok’s parent company ByteDance, topped the 2024 Hurun China Rich List, released Tuesday, October 29.

His wealth reached $49.3 billion, as assessed by research, media and investment group Hurun Inc, which publishes the ranking of the country’s richest people.

Zhang’s ascendency comes after ByteDance’s global revenue grew 30% last year to $110 billion, Hurun said.

Since its official launch in May 2017, TikTok has been catapulted to mass global popularity as well as becoming an era-defining social media platform beloved by many young people around the world.

Zhang owns 20% of ByteDance, which he co-founded with college roommate Liang Rubo in Beijing in 2012. He stepped down as its CEO 2021 after building ByteDance into one of the biggest names in Chinese tech.

ByteDance also holds China’s popular news app Toutiao and Douyin, TikTok’s sister app in China.

Zhang’s rise to the top of the rich list knocked China’s “bottled water king” Zhong Shanshan out of the lead spot for the first time in three years, though he remained second.

R&B star Temilade Openiyi, also known as Tems, has stated that she believes that she’s super famous in Nigeria.

Speaking in a podcast interview with Big Boy TV in the United States, Tems said her celebrity status sometimes complicates her movements in Nigeria.

She recalled almost getting mobbed while driving in Lagos last December.

According to her, she can’t drive in Nigeria without police escorts due to her popularity.

“I used to drive in Nigeria, but now I can’t drive. I almost got mobbed last December. If I want to drive, I must have police escorts at the front and the back,” she said.

Tems said she struggled with fame because she’s an introvert but later adjusted.

The National President of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, Abubakar Maigandi, has queried the claim by the President of the Dangote Group, Alike Dangote, that the 650,000 barrels per day refinery currently has 500m litres of premium motor spirit, also known as petrol in stock for onward supply to Nigerians.

Maigandi said this is because its members drafted in by Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited to pick up products on its behalf, couldn’t load petrol from the Refinery in Lagos for four days.

He also stated that oil marketers have not been able to pick products from the refinery despite having paid N40bn to the NNPCL.

Maigandi said this when he appeared on ChannelsTv Sunrise Daily on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, Dangote urged petroleum marketers, including the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, to source petrol directly from his refinery to meet local demand.

He stated that the refinery can produce over 30 million litres of fuel daily at full capacity and currently holds 500 million litres in reserve, enough to supply the country for over 12 days without imports.

He confirmed the refinery’s readiness to supply fuel after closed-door talks with President Bola Tinubu at the Aso Rock Villa, Abuja.

“We’re more than ready,” Dangote assured State House Correspondents, adding that the refinery’s production capacity could offset Nigeria’s fuel needs significantly.

“It is not an issue because, as we speak today, we have 500 million litres, you know, in our tanks. So 500 million litres in our tanks even if there’s no production from anybody or no imports. This will take the country more than 12 days, you know, with no imports, with no production, nothing,” he added.

The IPMAN leader, reacting to this, expressed surprise that the refinery currently possesses a stock of fuel products sufficient to meet the nation’s needs for a full 12 days.

He also expressed surprise that the owner of the $20bn refinery said marketers were boycotting his refinery to buy imported petrol.

Maigandi said, “If he (Dangote) can be able to sell the product to us directly, we can buy the product because we have to pay before we pick. Presently, we have N40bn under the NNPCL custody but we cannot source the product.

“Just recently, there are some of my marketers that NNPCL sent to load in Dangote refinery, and those marketers stayed with their trucks for four days, and they cannot load. So I was surprised when Dangote said he has over 500 million litres of PMS. We are ready to buy the product from Dangote if he is ready to sell it to us directly.”

The IPMAN leader stated that instead of sourcing Dangote petrol through the NNPCL, the private refinery should directly register independent petrol marketers to facilitate smoother loading of the product.

The Metropolitan Police Service of the United Kingdom has dismissed a Nigerian-British officer, Shola Balogun of Bromley Police Station, for biting a colleague (name withheld) at a birthday party in Bexleyheath, Kent.

This was disclosed in a hearing that was held from October 21-23, 2024, and chaired by a high-ranking officer, Christopher McKay, with IPM Amanda Harvey and Assessor-Detective Superintendent, Kirsty Mead as the panel members.

The document of the hearing notice sighted by our correspondent revealed that Balogun, a Police Constable, had attended a 40th birthday party of another police officer with about 70 other persons in attendance at Goals Sports Bar, stressing that he and the officer (victim) were the two police officers present at the event aside from the celebrant.

The document also explained that the incident happened on April 22, 2022, as a result of a light-hearted horseplay between them in the past but with no significant falling out.

It read, “On the 22nd of April 2022 about 70 people attended a 40th birthday party for a police officer at Goals Sports Bar in Bexleyheath, Kent. Among those attending were members of her work team, ERT C, who were based at Bromley Police Station. PC Shola Balogun and PC (name withheld) were two of those police officers who were present at the party. The officers knew each other well as work colleagues, having been based at Bromley Police Station together since June 2018.

“There had been light-hearted horseplay between them in the past but no significant falling out. Both describe a good friendly working relationship. The victim said he arrived at the party at about 9 pm after meeting other officers in a nearby pub. PC Balogun arrived after the victim and he admitted that had been drinking alcohol before his arrival. There is a dispute about the incidents that took place between them during that evening.

“The victim says that at around 23.30 he walked up a flight of stairs from the dancefloor and found PC Balogun in front of him. PC Balogun was about an arms-length away when he reached out and grabbed the victim’s spectacles off his face and dropped them on the floor. This surprised the victim and he claimed to have then approached PC Balogun in a friendly manner whereupon PC Balogun responded by pushing him with his right hand to the victim’s throat area. When the victim then complained about PC Balogun’s actions in a conversation at a time when they were only a foot apart because the music was so loud, PC Balogun is alleged to have leaned forward and bitten the victim on the right side of his face.”

However, Balogun’s account of the event was different from that of the victim as he claimed to have only knocked the victim’s glasses off by accident.

He also denied pushing the victim or biting him in the face as alleged but medical reports and diagnosis revealed that the victim was bitten.

The findings in the document read, “The Regulation 30 Notice alleges that by acting in the way described PC Balogun brought discredit to the police service and undermined public trust in the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS). This is alleged to have been a breach of the standard of Discreditable Conduct.

“Discreditable Conduct is explained in the College of Policing Code of Ethics as not behaving in a manner, whether on or off duty, which brings discredit to the police service or undermines public confidence in policing. This is further explained as being a requirement that police officers must keep in mind at all times that the public expects police officers to maintain the highest standards of behaviour. Police officers are instructed to always think about how a member of the public may regard their behaviour, whether on or off duty. The Panel is satisfied that PC Balogun breached this standard by biting the victim. Assaulting a fellow officer is clearly unacceptable and discreditable behaviour.

Meanwhile, the panel claimed to have spoken to people including an inspector who had been his line manager for close to five years about Balogun’s behavioural history and they all spoke highly of him and his qualities as a police officer, adding, “To counter-balance the evidence of his good character the Panel has received evidence of his previous disciplinary history.”

“The Panel bears in mind the words of Lord Justice Maurice Kay in the well-known case of Salter v Chief Constable of Dorset [2012] EWCA Civ 1047 when he said, ”As to personal mitigation, just as an unexpectedly errant solicitor can usually refer to an unblemished past and the esteem of his colleagues, so will a police officer often be able so to do. However, because of the importance of public confidence, the potential of such mitigation is necessarily limited.”

The panel further agreed on dismissal without notice as the outcome of Balogun’s action.

“In the present case, PC Balogun does not have an unblemished past and the previous misconduct proved against him is serious. In the present case, he committed a deliberate assault on a colleague without any explanation or justification. He humiliated PC Final Written Warning is not appropriate in this case. The only appropriate and proportionate outcome in this case is Dismissal Without Notice,” the document added

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has arrested Chima Anthony Nwigwe, suspected leader of banks’ hacking syndicate alongside three others: Effiong Victor Emmanuel, Mohammed Bello Mahmud, managing director, Downstone Ultimate Limited and Daminan Ali for alleged conspiracy, unauthorized access to banks’ computer systems and fraudulent withdrawal of depositors’ funds.

A statement released by the anti-graft agency says they were arrested in a sting operation in Abuja following actionable intelligence about their suspected involvement in hacking, compromising databases of commercial banks, thereby causing fraudulent transfers and withdrawals through different digital platforms.

The agency says the suspects would be charged to court upon conclusion of investigations.

The Ondo State Security Network Agency codenamed Amotekun has arrested 20-year-old man, Friday Akinmade, for allegedly k!lling a 65-year-old woman in Owo, the headquarters of Owo Local Government Area of the state. 

The suspect was said to have k!lled the deceased with a plank after accusing her of stealing N3000 from him.

Akinmade, who spoke with journalists at the Amotekun headquarters on Tuesday, October 29, 2024, in Akure confessed to hitting the woman with a plank twice on the head without knowing that she would later d!e.

The suspect said when he confronted the deceased with the allegation of stealing she ran away from the scene.

The Commander of the Amotekun Corps, Akogun Adetunji Adeleye paraded the suspect alongside 26 others who were involved in crimes such as kidnapping, stealing, and burglary. 

“Akinmade Friday outrightly killed a 65-year-old woman. This is a 20-year-old boy,” Adeleye said. 

50 Cent, the US rapper, says he turned down a “$3 million offer” to perform at a campaign rally for Donald Trump, the former US president.

Trump, who is campaigning for a second term in the upcoming presidential election scheduled for November 5, and is running against Kamala Harris, the Democratic candidate, previously featured 50 Cent’s track ‘Many Men (Wish Death)’ at his political rallies.

In an interview on The Breakfast Club, 50 Cent said he was invited to perform at Trump’s rally at Madison Square Garden in New York but chose to decline because of his aversion to politics.

“I got a call, they wanted me for Sunday, and they offered me three million dollars for this past Sunday,” he said.

“I did not even go far back, I didn’t even talk to them about that kind of stuff. I’m afraid of politics. I do not like politics.

“It is because when you do get involved in it, no matter how you feel, someone passionately disagrees with you.”

Recently, Beyonce and Kelly Rowland turned up for Kamala at her rally in Houston, Texas.

In September, Pharrell Williams, the Grammy-winning singer, criticised celebrities endorsing politicians.

He said he respects that they have their opinions but feels not all of them should voice their political preferences.

50 Cent began pursuing his musical career in 1996. He released his first major-label album, ‘Get Rich or Die Tryin’ in 2003.

The rapper has also released scores of hit projects and garnered several awards and accolades for his craft.

A federal high court in Abuja has restrained the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) from further disbursing financial allocations to the Rivers state government.

The court held that monies from the federation account should not be released to the state pending the passage of a lawful appropriation act by a validly constituted house of assembly.

Joyce Abdulmalik, presiding judge, issued the verdict on Wednesday while delivering judgment on a suit filed by the Rivers state house of assembly led by Martins Amaewhule.

Abdulmalik held that Siminalayi Fubara, the Rivers governor, was wrong to have presented the state’s 2024 Appropriation Bill to a five-member assembly “that was not properly constituted”.

BACKGROUND

In December 2023, Fubara presented an N800 billion budget estimate to the Edison Ehie faction of the house of assembly.

The presentation of the budget titled: ‘Budget of Renewed Hope, Consolidation and Continuity’, took place at the government house.

In July, the Rivers house of assembly and Amaewhule, the factional speaker, instituted the suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/984/24 against the CBN and nine others.

The Rivers house of assembly has been polarised following the rift between Fubara and Nyesom Wike, minister of the federal capital territory (FCT).

The Amaewhule-led faction of the legislature is loyal to Wike.

The plaintiffs listed the CBN, Zenith Bank Plc, Access Bank Plc, and the accountant-general of the federation (AGF) as first to fourth defendants.

Fubara, accountant-general (AG) of Rivers, Rivers Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC), chief judge (CJ) of Rivers, chairman of RSIEC, and government of Rivers state were listed as fifth to tenth defendants.

The Amaewhule faction of the assembly sought an order of interlocutory injunction restraining the CBN, the commercial banks, and the AGF from honouring any financial instruction from Fubara.

The court had dismissed all the objections raised by the defendants.

Delivering the verdict, the judge held that Fubara’s decision to implement an “unlawful budget” was a gross violation of the 1999 Constitution he swore to protect.

The judge therefore restrained CBN, accountant-general of the federation, Zenith Bank and Access Bank from further allowing Fubara to access money from the consolidated revenue and federation account.

Ali Ndume, senator representing Borno south, says the federal government should not burden the poor with more taxes.

The national assembly is reportedly considering a bill proposing an increase in value added tax (VAT) from 7.5 percent to 10 percent by 2025.

The legislature also intends to increase VAT to 12.5 percent by 2026 through 2029.

During an appearance on Prime Time, an Arise Television programme, Ndume said he would resist any attempt to punish the poor with more taxes. 

He advised the federal government to go after rich individuals and corporations, adding that millions of Nigerians are barely surviving and cannot afford to be taxed more than they already are.

“We are almost losing the middle class in Nigeria. It is either you have it or you do not have it. Those that are in the middle are being squeezed out,” he said.

“If Nigerians can pay for those taxes, it is okay. But in the current situation, increasing taxes is not an alternative at all. I will not support any increase in taxes.

“Let us get things right first. Let people start living and not surviving. Let people have extra income.

“The north has more poverty, so if you want to increase taxes again, let’s be considerate. Tax those people who can afford it. Those who can afford the taxes in Nigeria are not even paying for them.

“I’m going to start campaigning against the increase in tax for now because it doesn’t only affect the northerners, it affects the average Nigeria. I’m not saying people should not pay tax but don’t tax people that are barely surviving.

“Let the tax authority concentrate on those that are supposed to pay tax.”

Nigeria has been grappling with its worst economic crisis in decades since President Bola Tinubu unfurled a raft of reforms in 2023.

Barring last-minute change of plan, the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) will this Wednesday arraign the lawmaker representing Abia North/South federal constituency in the House of Representatives, Hon. Alex Mascot Ikwechegh, for assaulting an e-hailing cab driver, Mr Steven Abuwatseya.

Abuwatseya was verbally and physically assaulted by the lawmaker a few days ago as captured in a viral video on social media.

Recalls that Abuwatseya recorded and shared the video where the lawmaker slapped him countlessly and used derogatory words like ‘rat’ and ‘poor monkey’ on him in Abuja over a delivery disagreement.

The lawmaker was also shown in the viral video threatening that he could make Abuwatseya ‘disappear’ forever and nothing would happen, a development that sparked outrage amongst netizens.

Hon. Ikwechegh, however, apologised to his colleagues in the Green Chamber and Nigerians on Tuesday following a statement of public apology he had earlier released. He was also questioned by the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Command of the Nigeria Police for belittling the office of the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) during the altercation with the cab driver.

However, an Abuja-based human rights lawyer, Deji Adeyanju, in a message sent to LEADERSHIP on Wednesday, disclosed that the lawmaker will be arraigned before a Kuje Magistrate Court by the Police for assaulting his client, Steven Abuwatseya, who is a nominal complainant in the matter, this Wednesday.

“We are on our way to Kuje Magistrate Court for the arraignment of the honourable member who assaulted our client, Mr, Steven, a bolt driver. The IGP’s SPECIAL INVESTIGATION UNIT (SIU) is in-charge of the investigation and prosecution. The media is invited to cover the arraignment, which is scheduled for 12pm today at Kuje Magistrate.”