Author: damazah@gmail.com

Deji Elumoye in Abuja Vice-President Kashim Shettima on Sunday morning departed the nation’s capital, Abuja, to represent President Bola Tinubu at the 69th Ordinary Session of the Authority of the Heads of State and Government of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in Freetown, Sierra Leone. Shettima, according to a release issued by his spokesperson, Stanley Nkwocha, will join other political and business leaders across West Africa and beyond at the summit scheduled to take place at the Julius Maada Bio International Conference Centre, Freetown on July 19, 2026. The summit is expected to focus on key policy…

  Bennett Oghifo  Leading automobile manufacturers, transport regulators and key government agencies have confirmed their participation in the 2026 Nigeria Auto Industry Summit (NAISU), signalling growing support for Nigeria’s transition to electric vehicles (EVs) and Compressed Natural Gas (CNG)-powered transportation. The summit, organised by the Nigeria Auto Journalists Association (NAJA) in collaboration with the National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC), is expected to bring together policymakers, investors, financial institutions, fleet operators, technology providers and other industry stakeholders to deliberate on the future of clean mobility in Nigeria. Major automobile companies that have thrown their weight behind this year’s edition include…

The use of AI in automated decision-making by government departments and agencies will be subject to tough rules under a new national plan, expected to extend to consumer protections, workplace safety and privacy.As the Albanese government grapples with the rapid growth in the use of artificial intelligence and a boom in datacentre construction, senior ministers have begun work to draw up new rules to ensure safety is built into AI processes inside government, prioritising fairness, accuracy and transparency.Federal departments and agencies continue to rely on automated decision-making in some service delivery functions, prompting fears increasingly sophisticated AI systems could replace…

My contribution to this summer’s modest avalanche of Andy Burnham stories extends to only two. One is about Glastonbury, and the time that he and his wife, Marie-France, came for a three-day stay at the festival, which included his appearance on the Left Field stage, organised by the songwriter and activist Billy Bragg. I help with the bookings and chair some of the debate sessions: Burnham’s was titled State of the Nation: Politics in Crisis.It was the summer of 2022 – the prologue to Liz Truss’s five minutes in power and (somewhat amazingly) Burnham’s first visit to Glasto. As well…

In the deserts of the United Arab Emirates a sprawling clean energy project, stretching across an area roughly the size of 12,600 football fields, will play host to a breakthrough allowing solar energy to power the equivalent of half a million homes through the night.The Gulf state has been steadily combining 5.2GW of solar power capacity with 19GWh of battery storage to create the largest battery scheme in the world.Meanwhile, about 7,500 miles away, at the US’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory facility in Colorado, researchers and engineers are making some of the smallest batteries the world has ever seen. A…

Lionel Messi’s battle-hardened Argentina take on silky Spain in the World Cup final on Sunday as the first 48-team tournament in history reaches a climax in New Jersey. The South Americans are striving to become the first team since Brazil in 1962 to win back-to-back World Cups, while Spain are eyeing a second title after their maiden victory in 2010. Sunday’s showpiece is likely to be the final World Cup appearance for Messi, widely considered the greatest player of all time. Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni urged fans to make the most of seeing the diminutive genius lead out his team at the…

James Gunn is a fan of Big Brother, and his friend Rick Devens joined the cast of Season 28 of the CBS competition. On Thursday’s eviction episode, Devens gave Gunn a shoutout during the live broadcast after sharing his vote to evict. The DC Studios co-head shared the clip of Devens name-dropping him on live TV and one of Gunn’s followers asked if he would be in the Superman sequel. “No because he’s on Big Brother! Otherwise he would have been,” Gunn shared on Threads. Another Threads user asked Gunn if Devens actually knew him, to which the filmmaker replied,…

In an era shaped by military rule, fierce newsroom rivalry and constant threats to press freedom, THISWEEK was more than a news magazine; it became a defining force in the evolution of Nigerian journalism. The publication distinguished itself through fearless reporting, editorial innovation and an uncompromising commitment to excellence. As it marks its 40th anniversary, media veterans have examined how the magazine, founded by Prince Nduka Obaigbena, reshaped journalism and built a legacy that continues to influence Nigeria’s media landscape. Sunday Ehigiator reports Forty years ago, when a new weekly magazine – THISWEEK – was unveiled before an audience at the Nigerian…

betPawa, one of the leading sports betting brands in the African continent, has paid out in the excess of $1.67 million to date across eight markets — Nigeria, Ghana, Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Malawi and Cameroon.  According to a full year verified data report from its Locker Room Bonus programme, the numbers describe something few private-sector sports initiatives in Africa have managed to build: a repeatable, technology-driven model that pays domestic league athletes directly and instantly, at the same rate for men and women’s squads. “The programme has paid more than US$1.67 million to date across eight markets — Nigeria,…

Oyinkansola Badejo-Okusanya, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), has emerged as the winner of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) presidential election. PREMIUM TIMES reported earlier that Mrs Badejo-Okusanya, the only female among the three presidential candidates, polled 12,317 votes to win the election, which was held through electronic voting for 24 hours, from 7:35 a.m. on Saturday to 7:34 a.m. on Sunday. The SAN defeated her two male challengers, polling 47.18 per cent of the 26,106 ballots cast in the presidential election, based on the final tally on the Live Election Results dashboard maintained by the Electoral Committee of the NBA (ECNBA).…