An Osun State-based cleric, Apostle Niyi Peter was Thursday docked before Chief Magistrate Olusegun Ayilara for allegedly referring to a gospel singer as a prostitute.

Peter was said to have posted the picture of the gospel singer, Bunmi Akinnaanu on Whatsapp platform and tagged an abusive song to it contrary to 373 of the State Criminal Law 2002.

The charge sheet which was read in the court adds, That you APOSTLE NIYI PETER ‘M’ on the same date, time and place in the aforementioned Magisterial District threatened one Bunmi Akinnaanu A.K.A Omije Ojumi ‘P through WhatsApp voice note that she will perish and that she will never rise again and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under section 88 (a) of the Criminal Code Cap 34 Vol. 11 Laws of Osun • State of Nigeria 2002.

“That you APOSTLE NIYI PETER ‘M’ on the same date, time and place in the aforementioned Magisterial District did conduct yourself in a manner likely to cause breach of the peace by falsely damaging the character of one Bunmi Akinnaanu A.K.A Omije Ojumi f and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under section 249(D) of the criminal code cap 34 vol. 11 flaw of Osun State of Nigeria 2002.

Police prosecutor, ASP Akitunde Jacob disclosed that the defendant committed the offence sometime in April 2024 at Oke-Odo Area, Osogbo at about noon.

The cleric pleaded not guilty to the charges preferred against him and his counsel, Najite Okobe orally applied for his bail in the most liberal terms.

Ruling on the application, Ayilara admitted the defendant to bail in the sum of N1 million with two sureties in the same sum and adjourned the matter till October 22 for a hearing.

Femi Otedola, the chairman of First Bank of Nigeria (FBN) Holdings and majority shareholder, has further increased his stake in the company to 13.15 percent.

According to a statement signed by the Acting Secretary, FBNH, Adewale Arogundare released by the Nigerian Exchange, NGX on Thursday, Otedola increased his stake after purchasing 534,094,407 shares at N30.00 per share between September 23 and 25.

The acquisition raised his interest in FBN Holdings from 11.67 percent (4,187,602,704 shares) to 13.15 percent (4,721,697,111 shares), worth N136.9 billion as of Wednesday.

It also expands the gap between Otedola and Barbican Capital Limited, FBN Holdings’ second majority investor with an 8.67 percent stake, which represents 3,110,400,619 shares, valued at N90.2 billion as of Wednesday.

Meanwhile, there has been contention over the exact shares Barbican Capital holds in FBN Holdings.

In a lawsuit (no. FHC/L/CS/1172/24) against FBN Holdings, Barbican Capital, owned by Oba Otudeko, claimed that about 5,386,397,202 units of shares representing 15.1 percent of FBN Holdings were acquired over the years and at different times.

Barbican Capital said its shares purchases and dates of issue, were adequately captured by Meristem Registrar and Probate Service Ltd, the financial institution’s appointed registrars, and further acknowledged in the Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS), which contained its value of shares with the bank.

In response, FBN Holdings said Barbican Capital only notified the financial institution on July 7, 2023, that about 4,770.269,843 units of shares were acquired.

FBN Holdings told the court that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) was only able to verify 3,110,400.619 units of shares out of the 4,770,269,843 shares Barbican Capital claimed it acquired.

In a stunning twist that has sent shockwaves through the Nigerian gaming community, Nigerians and thousands of other users have been left feeling betrayed and cheated by the highly anticipated release of Hamster Kombat.

After months of intense engagement and strategic gameplay, Nigerians and other gamers from around the world had been eagerly awaiting the launch of the Hamster Kombat coin, enticed by the promise of substantial financial rewards. Many had invested countless hours tapping and earning points, dreaming of striking it rich.

However, the reality of the coin’s launch on Thursday was far from the rosy picture painted by promoters. Instead of the life-changing payouts that had been touted, users were met with stark disappointment: the actual rewards ranged from a mere 1 to 4 dollars.

The sudden reversal has left many feeling duped and questioning the legitimacy of the entire Hamster Kombat project. The widespread outrage has sparked discussions about the ethical implications of such promotional tactics and the need for greater transparency in the gaming industry.

As the dust settles and investigations into the matter unfold, it remains to be seen how Hamster Kombat will address the growing discontent among its user base and restore trust in the platform.

For instance, an X user with the handle @Ali89X wrote:

“Scamster Kombat is now the real name of Hamster Kombat. We will not play Scamster Kombat for season 2. Bye bye Scamster Kombat. Now see your decline…”

Another X user, @ConcellorSunny, expressed frustration, writing:
“After farming Hamster Kombat for months, Hamster Kombat don give me dust. I’m the third guy ??”. Hamster_Kombat #HMSTR

@MattybnksOf: “After all the game and tapping. For 3months @hamster_kombat; you will ask for bread Allah will give you stone.”

Similarly, @Mohsin_71 wrote: “#HamsterKombat Token Distribution: Unfair Distribution ?? People wasted 2-3 months to mine #Hamster_Kombat tokens. What did they get? ….. Few pennies? Retweet ? Season 2 = Advance Failure due to bad distribution. People are not happy. You can destroy your whole empire.” hamster @hamster_kombat

Speaking with one of the players, Sam, he told Vanguard, “I expected much more than what I got. I had two million coins and received just $1.46.”

The Chairman of BUA Foods Plc, Abdul Samad Rabiu, on Thursday, stated that greedy distributors and producers should be blamed for the rising cost of foodstuffs in Nigeria.

Rabiu made the claim at the 7th annual general meeting of the company in Abuja.

He applauded President Bola Tinubu for granting duty waivers on food imports into the country.

He said, “BUA products are the cheapest in the market. And because we have other companies producing similar products, it is very difficult to price them low. For instance, a few months ago, the price of flour went as high as N70,000 per bag. We retained ours at N50,000 for quite some time to try and force other companies to also come down. But when they saw it was going to happen, they deliberately stopped production, and the prices kept going up.

“So when we were at N50,000, the distributors added N20,000 and were selling at N70,000 per bag. At one point, customers were making almost N20 million per truck of 75 tonnes of flour. Yes, it happened. While we were there at N50,000, still puffing and praying for the prices to come down, some companies were not happy that we were keeping the prices low.

“That was why they suddenly stopped production to create scarcity. With that scarcity, the price kept going up. So that is part of the problem. When we saw that, we knew it did not make sense for us to continue selling at N50,000 when the market was at N70,000. Our production is substantial, but there are two other companies that are bigger than us.

“However, we believe that by next year, we are going to be bigger than them.”

Nigerian cross-dresser Idris Okuneye, aka Bobrisky, has called for an open and independent investigation into the alleged N15 million bribe saga.

DAILY POST recalls that popular activist and social media influencer Martins Vincent Otse, aka VeryDarkMan, had released audio of Bobrisky claiming to have offered N15 million to the operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC to drop the money laundering charges against him and help him evade jail term at the Kirikiri Correctional Centre in Lagos State.

Bobrisky denied the content of the audio, describing it as fake.

The crossdresser also made a cryptic post mulling on a suicide attempt. However, in another post via Instagram, Bobrisky dismissed talks of fear, calling for an open investigation.

He wrote: “Please, everyone calling to tell me the danger I am in and the plans against me should hold it now and fu*k it. I was being scared because of the story that EFCC will detain me again and I will be sentenced to prison a second time.

“I am ready for any investigation, but not in the same EFCC office where I was detained, and any investigation should be free, no intimidation and I demand for an independent and open investigation for the world to see.”

The socialite further reiterated that the audio was fake, adding that it could be altered and was ready to defend his case in court.

“Anybody can alter any audio, add or frame any audio and put it out. Best of luck. Anyone who published any audio should take responsibility for the audio. The fact remains that I am not the maker of the audio and didn’t publish any audio and nothing can change that.

“I will meet you guys in any court this time around if you have any case against me,” he said.

The Nigeria Football Federation, NFF, has confirmed Augustine Eguavoen will continue his role as Super Eagles interim head coach.

The executive committee of the NFF approved the recommendation of its

Technical and Development Sub-Committee to retain the services of the former international. 

Eguavoen will now take charge of the team in next month’s 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying matches against Libya.

The 58-year-old steered the three-time African champions to a 3-0 defeat of Benin Republic and scoreless draw with Rwanda in Matchdays 1 and 2 earlier this month.

The former defender will also continue working with Fidelis Ilechukwu, Daniel Ogunmodede, Olatunji Baruwa and Tomaz Zorec.

Eguavoen will also take charge of the Super Eagles B team for the qualifying campaign for next year’s African Nations Championship, otherwise known as CHAN.

The Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, has called for immediate action to prevent further loss of skilled professionals.

NCC made this call worried by the alarming rate of talent migration from Nigeria’s telecommunications sector.

It disclosed that over 500 software engineers and more than 2,000 trained telecom professionals fled the country in 2022 alone, posing a significant threat to the industry’s future.

NCC Executive Vice Chairman Aminu Maida, while speaking at the fifth edition of the Telecom Sector Sustainability Forum, TSSF 5.0, themed “Mitigating the Effects of Talent Exodus and its Impact on the Growth of Nigeria’s Telecommunications Industry,” urged telecom companies to adopt flexible work policies, improve remuneration packages, and foster a culture of innovation.

Maida stressed the importance of creating an environment that values and nurtures talent, saying it is crucial to retaining skilled professionals and ensuring the sector’s continued growth.

Represented by NCC Lagos Zonal Controller Tunji Jimoh, the NCC boss warned that the global demand for tech talent has driven many of Nigeria’s brightest minds to seek more lucrative opportunities abroad.

This trend, if left unchecked, could create a skills gap that threatens the sustainability of the nation’s telecom sector.

Citing a report by the Association of Telecoms Companies of Nigeria, ATCON, Dr. Maida highlighted the exodus of telecom professionals as a major setback, adding that the loss of such talent directly impacts innovation and development in the industry.

To address this challenge, he called on telecom companies to offer more attractive working conditions.

“Remote work options, continuous learning opportunities, and collaborative spaces that encourage creativity will make the local telecom sector more appealing to professionals who might otherwise seek opportunities abroad,” he said.

He further urged telecom companies to partner with educational institutions to create programs tailored to industry needs, stressing that the partnership would help address the talent gap and build a pipeline of young professionals eager to contribute to the telecom sector.

He also underscored NCC’s role in mitigating talent migration through initiatives aimed at promoting indigenous content and improving the infrastructure necessary for digital growth.

“The Commission is actively participating in the 3 Million Technical Talent, 3MTT, a programme initiated by the Ministry of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, which aims to train three million Nigerians in digital and technical skills by 2027,” he said.

Edo State Governor-Elect Monday Okpebholo has said he is expecting a congratulatory message from the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and its candidate in the just concluded gubernatorial election, Asue Ighodalo.

Okpebholo, who received his certificate of return from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Thursday before visiting the Presidential Villa to meet with the President, Bola Tinubu, said he will govern as a servant-leader.

The All Progressives Congress, APC, candidate also revealed that he is ready to work with the opposition if they have useful ideas to add to the value of the state.

Okpebholo said, “For me, I’m coming as a servant to serve the Edo people. That is what is required of me, and that is what exactly I’m going to do. So very soon, you will see a lot of development coming up in Edo.

“We are going to employ teachers. We are going to renovate our schools…a lot will be happening over time. So with time, you recognise that a new dawn has happened. ⁣
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“If they have an idea that is beautiful, that is acceptable by the people, then why not? My door is open to everybody.⁣
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⁣”They have to bear it. They have to wait. It has happened. If I had lost I would have borne it, and I would have, by now, congratulated the winner. So I’m expecting them to congratulate me.”

⁣Former Governor of the State, Adams Oshiomhole, who was part of the delegation to the Presidential Villa, said the state is now blessed with a governor the people can relate to easily.

Oshiomhole said governance is not necessarily building roads and schools but about a leadership that is compassionate and listens to the feelings of the people.
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He said, “Only God can confer power. Man can make all the effort. If God chooses not to crown it, it will be in vain. So politicians campaign in vain, unless God campaign for you. And I think that is our case, and I am excited not only for the fact that we have reclaimed Edo state, almost in the same manner that we reclaimed it from PDP in 2007, before Obaseki took it away back from us. ⁣
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“My joy is the fact that Edo people will now have a governor that they can hug, they can touch, they can feel, and the governor that will open the doors. Edo State people now have a governor that will not send pregnant women to jail on account of N20,000 fine by a mobile court and who might end up delivering inside prison. ⁣
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“We have a man with compassion, with human feeling; because governance is not just about building roads and schools. It is that human touch; a governor with empathy, humble enough to recognise that public trust is not like a corporate Chief Executive.

“Corporate chief executive can behave the way he wants because he heads the business because it is his father’s money.⁣
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“But with public trust, the vote of the labourer and the vote of the professor, the vote of the pauper, the beggar and the vote of the wealthiest person, one man, one vote is equal. And so we have a governor who understands this, and who went through this process just about a year ago, and his people entrusted him with the senatorial representation in Edo Central. And what is going for him is precisely what the other guys fail to understand. ⁣
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“The fact that he’s at home with the ordinary man, is at home with the ordinary woman. He understand the challenges of the rural poor. So they are all excited now that they are back again with a governor that they can say, ‘this is my governor”.

The Federal Government, on Thursday, suspended the officers in charge of the Maximum and Minimum Custodial Centres, Kirikiri, Lagos State.

The decision was taken after an audio leak indicating that cross dresser, Idris Okuneye, popularly known as Bobrisky who was convicted of a crime and sentenced to six months in jail was given an apartment outside the custodial centre.

Secretary of the Civil Defence, Correctional, Fire and Immigration Services Board, CDCFIB, Ja’afaru Ahmed disclosed this in a statement released in Abuja.1

Ahmed in the statement said the suspension of the officers is to allow for further investigation on the various allegations, assuring that the outcome would be made public when concluded.

He said, “Following the viral video trending on social media on alleged infractions by Officers of the Nigerian Correctional Service relating to Mr. Idris Okuneye, widely known as Bobrisky, the Civil Defence, Correctional, Fire and Immigration Services Board has suspended forthwith the following Senior Officers of the Service.

“Michael Anugwa, Deputy Controller of Corrections (DCC), In-Charge of Medium Security Custodial Centre (MSCC), Kiri-kiri, Lagos State; and Sikiru Adekunle, Deputy Controller of Corrections (DCC), In-Charge of Maximum-Security Custodial Centre (MSCC), Kiri-kiri, Lagos State.

“Also, the Board has suspended ASC II Ogbule Samuel Obinna, serving at the Medium Security Custodial Centre (MSCC), Afikpo, Ebonyi State, for allegedly accompanying a convicted inmate out of the Custodial Centre to a location outside the facility.

“In another related development, the Board has equally suspended another Senior Officer of the Service, Iloafonsi Kevin Ikechukwu, Deputy Controller of Corrections (DCC), In-Charge of Medium Security Custodial Centre (MSCC), Kuje- Abuja, for allegedly receiving monies on behalf of an inmate.”

Federal government employees will begin receiving the new minimum wage payment starting Thursday, September 26th.

Confirming the development, the Spokesperson for the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, Bawa Mokwa, told journalists on Thursday that employees under the federal government payroll can expect to receive notifications regarding their updated minimum wage salary payments from today.

However, Mokwa did not clarify whether the minimum wage would be disbursed along with any outstanding arrears.

 “Federal Government civil servants will start getting the new minimum wage from today(Thursday) this September 2024. What I can tell you is that the minimum wage salary payment is today I am not sure of the arrears,” he told Daily Post.

Naija News reports that Mokwa’s update comes shortly after the confirmation by Ekpo Nta, the Chairman of the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission, on Tuesday regarding the government’s endorsement of an increase in the consolidated public service salary structure, known as CONPSS, in accordance with the Minimum Wage (Amendment) Act of 2024.

This development came after President Bola Ahmed Tinubu sanctioned a new minimum wage of N70,000 on July 18, 2024.

Following this, the Senate enacted the new minimum wage bill into law.

Ealier, the Federal Government, through the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission (NSIWC), announced that the payment of the revised minimum wage officially begin from July 2024.

This was disclosed by the NSIWC Chairman, Ekpo Nta, during a press briefing held on Tuesday in Abuja.

Nta explained that the July start date aligns with when President Bola Tinubu signed the minimum wage bill into law after its passage by the National Assembly.

This announcement contradicts an earlier statement made by the Minister of State forLabour, Nkiruka Onyejeocha, who had claimed that the new wage would take effect from May 1, 2024.

The new decision means that only two months of arrears will be paid if the government begins disbursement by the end of October.

The announcement also confirmed the approval of the revision of the Consolidated Public Service Salary Structure along with other salary frameworks for federal workers.

Last week, the Committee on Consequential Adjustments in Salaries for civil servants met to discuss the new minimum wage structure and agreed to backdate the implementation to July 29, 2024.

Additionally, the committee, led by the Head of Civil Service of the Federation, Didi Walson-Jack, recommended that the previously discontinued wage award should be paid up until July 28, 2024.

The government reportedly considered the current economic situation in the country before reaching its conclusions.

However, the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) has rejected the July backdate decision, with NLC’s Head of Information, Benson Upah, expressing discontent, calling it “unfair and unacceptable.”

Similarly, the National Vice President of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), Timmy Etim, criticized the move, referencing Onyejeocha’s previous promise on May Day that the wage would take effect in May.

At the press briefing, Nta addressed these concerns, clarifying that the minimum wage will take effect from July 29, 2024, as this was the date when the President officially approved the bill.