Human rights lawyer Mike Ozekhome has applauded President Bola Tinubu’s government for the reintroduction of the old national anthem, Nigeria, we Hail Thee. 

Ozekhome spoke in an interview with Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Thursday.

He said, “I am not a fantastic fan of the government but if there is one thing I think they have gone right; they have gotten right, and I applaud them for it, it is the reintroduction of this national anthem.”

The return to the old national anthem came after the National Assembly passed the National Anthem Bill 2024 which was later signed by President Tinubu. 

While the development triggered a backlash from Nigerians who questioned the importance of the reversal, Ozekhome noted that the reintroduction of the old national anthem “will cement us together”.

Ozekhome said, “I know that it was advertised that there would be a public hearing over the national anthem.

“That was how I heard. Nobody came to invite me specially and if you’re called, you should go and participate. If you don’t participate, you should not cry later.”

He said, unlike a change of constitution, having a new national anthem does not require town hall meetings at the lowest levels. 

Ozekhome lamented the lack of patriotism among some Nigerians and hopes the new anthem will reinstate that in Nigerians.

According to him, the reintroduction of the anthem was part of the recommendations of the 2014 National Confab.

Ozekhome’s comment came days after Tinubu defended the reintroduction of the anthem which the President described as his “priority”.

“Let me allude to something that happened yesterday. The change of national anthem, ‘Nigeria, we hail thee’,” President Tinubu said during a meeting with the leadership of the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) at the Presidential Villa in Abuja last Thursday.

“Some people say, okay… say what? Is that your priority? It’s my priority. I agree with the National Assembly. If they make law, I’ve got to obey that law, or we disagree openly and close the chapter.”

The Nigerian government has said the turnover of Binance, a cryptocurrency platform, surpassed $20 billion from activities in Nigeria, yet the firm paid zero tax to the country.

The Minister of Information and Orientation, Mohammed Idris disclosed this in a statement on Wednesday while reacting to the allegation that two Binance executives Tigran Gambaryan and Nadeem Anjarwalla were illegally held in custody in Nigeria.

The Minister clarified that the two executives, although one is currently at large, were held for fueling currency speculation and operating non-registered business activities in Nigeria. 

“It would be recalled that Binance had a turnover in Nigeria of over US$20 billion in 2023 alone, far above the federal budget for health and education, fueling currency speculation and the cost-of-living crisis.

“In addition, it is not registered in Nigeria and neither has it ever paid any taxes within the Nigerian jurisdiction, having all the while operated without oversight or any of the normal guard rails to flag criminal activity”, he said.

Recall that on February 28, Gambaryan and Anjarwalla were arrested by the Nigerian government on the allegation of currency speculation.

Anjarwalla was confirmed to have escaped custody in March.

In April, the Nigerian government arraigned Gambaryan in court for tax evasion and other charges bordering on money laundering.

Anjarwalla, though on the run, was joined in the suit with Binance.

In the federal high court in May, Gambaryan was denied bail and was ordered to be kept in Kuje Correctional Centre pending the recommencement of his trial.

Meanwhile, in a recent unfolding of the trial, Aluko & Oyebode, the law firm handling the case of Binance Holdings Limited, said Mr Tigran Gambaryan may die in custody in Kuje prison and called for his release.

Premier League clubs will on Thursday, vote on whether or not to scrap the Video Assistant Referee, VAR.

The clubs will meet at an annual general meeting.

Wolves are the club driving the vote having been hard done by numerous times. 

The 2023/2024 season saw a host of high profile errors from VAR, including the failure to award a goal that was shown to be onside for Liverpool in their loss at Tottenham.

VAR was introduced ahead of the 2019/2020 season and still continues to split opinions.

The proposal needs 14 votes from the 20 clubs for it to change.

But according to the UK Mirror, Wolves will get nowhere near the required number with VAR set to stay.

Grammy-winning Nigerian singer, Temilade Openiyi, aka Tems, has revealed that a DM from billionaire pop star, Rihanna, made her realise how successful she has become.

She disclosed this while speaking with popular YouTuber, Korty EO.

The host asked: “At what point did you realise that you’ve become successful?” 

Tems replied: “I knew I’d blown and gone far when I got a DM from Rihanna.”

Tems co-wrote Rihanna’s Black Panther2 soundtrack, ‘Lift Me Up’ last year.

Earlier this year, Rihanna expressed a desire to collaborate with Tems and Ayra Starr on a song.

The Tripartite Committee on Minimum Wage has resumed talks over a new minimum wage for workers in the country.

The committee is meeting at NICON Luxury Hotel in Abuja.

DAILY POST reports that the Federal Government is represented by Wale Edun, the Minister of Finance; Atiku Bagudu, the Minister of Budget and National Planning; Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, the Minister of Labour; and representatives of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, along with the Head of Service of the Federation.

Joe Ajaero, the President of the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, and Festus Osifo, the President of the Trade Union Congress, TUC, are leading the organized labour delegation.

Abdulateef Shittu, the Director General of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, was present at the meeting even though none of the state governors was present at the time of filing this report.

DAILY POST reported that Labour suspended its nationwide indefinite strike on Tuesday after grounding the economy.

The Nigerian government has acknowledged that fuel subsidy expenditures are expected to surge to ₦5.4 trillion in 2024, according to a recent revelation by the Minister of Finance, Wale Edun.

This disclosure was made during the presentation of the Accelerated Stabilisation and Advancement Plan (ASAP) report, which outlines strategies to address critical challenges and stimulate growth across various sectors.

The projected subsidy cost for 2024 marks a significant increase from ₦3.6 trillion in 2023 and ₦2.0 trillion in 2022, highlighting a continuous upward trend in government spending on fuel subsidies.

This revelation comes amidst previous denials from the government regarding the complete deregulation of fuel prices.

The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Heineken Lokpobiri, reiterated during a ministerial briefing on the anniversary of President Bola Tinubu’s administration that fuel subsidies had been entirely eliminated.

“I can confirm to you that subsidy is gone; officially, there is no subsidy; I want to make it clear that there is no subsidy in the country today,” Lokpobiri stated.

These statements come after significant policy shifts last year when President Tinubu declared the end of the fuel subsidy, leading to a hike in pump prices from ₦250 per litre to over ₦500. Prices have continued to climb, reaching an average of ₦702 per litre as of April 2024.

The persistence of fuel subsidies and the floating of the Naira have had a profound impact on the economy, contributing to soaring inflation rates. As of April 2024, Nigeria’s headline and food inflation rates had escalated to 33.69 percent and 40.53 percent, respectively.

Italian Serie A former champions, Napoli, have confirmed the appointment of former Juventus and Chelsea manager, Antonio Conte, as their new manager.
Antonio Conte has been without a coaching job since he left Tottenham Hotspur in the middle of the 2022-2023 season, the same season in which Napoli won the Serie A title for the first time in 33 years.

Unfortunately for Napoli, they completely collapsed in the 2023-2024 campaign, a season they couldn’t win any title and didn’t even qualify for European club football.

Despite the unpleasant state of Napoli which could lose Super Eagles of Nigeria striker, Victor Osimhen, to another club this summer, Antonio Conte decided to take the challenge.

After signing his contract with Napoli, the 54-year-old Italian tactician who has won the Serie A title three times in a row with Juventus and once with Inter Milan, said he is committed to the growth of Napoli.

“Napoli is a place of global importance. I am happy and excited at the idea of ​​sitting on the blue bench,” Conte said.

“I can certainly promise one thing, I will do my utmost for the growth of the team and the club. My commitment, together with that of my staff, will be total.”

Antonio Conte is expected to do better than Slovakian coach Francesco Calzona, and Walter Mazzarri who were in charge of Napoli in separate periods last season.

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs, the US rapper, has sold his entire stake in Revolt, the media company he co-founded in 2013.

Revolt confirmed the complete buy-out in a statement on Tuesday. The media company revealed that Combs’ shares have been “redeemed and retired”. The sale price, however, remains undisclosed.

Detavio Samuels, Revolt’s CEO, told the New York Times that discussions about Diddy’s separation began in January after multiple sexual assault lawsuits were filed against him.

He said before the lawsuits, Combs had minimal interaction with the company.

Samuels revealed that the “staff were shaken by the cascade of news surrounding the company’s founder”, adding that they have completely “separated from Combs”.

“He is no longer chairman. He is no longer on the board. He has no shares, no equity in Revolt. We have completely separated and dissociated from each other,” he said.

Revolt also announced a new ownership structure that will give its employees an equity stake.

The separation follows months of controversy surrounding Combs.

In November 2023, Cassie, his ex-girlfriend, accused him of rape, abuse, and human trafficking during their 10-year relationship. However, the lawsuit was settled shortly after.

Several other women have also filed lawsuits against Combs with similar allegations.

In May, a video surfaced showing Combs assaulting Cassie in 2016.

Diddy, who had denied Cassie’s claims, however, apologised. He said he was “truly sorry” and that his actions were “inexcusable”.

Bolaji Idowu, the lead pastor of Harvesters International Christian Centre, says it is very “shameful” for a man to marry a woman for “financial reasons”.

In a recent sermon to his congregation, the cleric wondered why a “grown” man’s success strategy would be to tie the knot with a “lady from a rich family”.

He also described having such a thought process as a “consumer mentality”, adding that such men “lack critical wisdom”.

“One of the most shameful things I have seen is when men try to marry women for money. How can you be a grown man and your dream in life for success, your life strategy for success is that I will find a rich girl from a rich family and I will marry her,” he said.

“Is it because you believe there is nothing in you that can produce? That is consumer mentality. How do you want to do marriage and in planning for your marital finances, you plan that people will give you money to do your marriage? Does it not show that you lack critical wisdom?”.

Idowu founded Harvesters church on December 13, 2003.

He is well known for publicly speaking out on religious and political matters.

The Federal High Court in Lagos has further adjourned the case against celebrity socialite Pascal Okechukwu, popularly known as Cubana Chief Priest, for allegedly abusing the Naira. The new court date is set for June 25th.

Cubana Chief Priest was arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on April 17th on three counts related to spraying and tampering with Naira notes at a social event held at the Eko Hotel in Lagos.

He pleaded not guilty to the charges and was granted bail for N10 million.

During the previous hearing on May 2nd, the defense counsel indicated that both parties were exploring the possibility of settling the case outside of court, following Section 14(2) of the EFCC Act. As a result, a preliminary objection filed by the defense was withdrawn.

The court then scheduled today, June 5th, for a progress report on the settlement discussions.

However, on Wednesday, it came to light that the defense had requested an adjournment. The court has now granted the request and rescheduled the case for June 25th.

The charges against Cubana Chief Priest allege that he tampered with N500 notes while dancing at the social event, which is a violation of Section 21(1) of the Central Bank Act of 2007.