Author: damazah@gmail.com

Four years after a coalition of Peoples Democratic Party chieftains helped propel him to power, Governor Ademola Adeleke is watching that same coalition crumble with just 72 hours to the polls. The defection of former Governor Olagunsoye Oyinlola, ex-Secretary to Osun State Government, Fatai Akinbade, and other party stalwarts to the All Progressives Congress has not only depleted the governor’s political war chest, but also handed the opposition a template eerily similar to the one that culminated in Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola’s victory in 2014, writes Ismail Omipidan. Governor’s Home Front Governor Ademola Adeleke has two wives. Both have been assigned…

US prices rose 3.4% in the year to July, slightly lower than the 3.5% in the year to June, new figures show. Month to month, inflation rose 0.1%, mainly due to an increase in housing costs, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said. Even small moves in rent can lift the overall headline figure as it makes up a large share of household spending. Food prices rose only slightly in July and at a slower rate than in June, while energy prices fell, offering some relief for consumers. Prices excluding food and energy rose 0.2% after staying flat in June, with…

Ariana Grande debuts her new full-length ‘Petal’ at No. 1 on every U.K. chart, as the set becomes a bestseller and top-streamer in the nation. BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA – JANUARY 11: (FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY) Ariana Grande attends the 83rd annual Golden Globe Awards at The Beverly Hilton on January 11, 2026 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/WireImage)WireImageAriana Grande’s new album Petal was one of the most highly-anticipated releases of 2026, and now that it is here, it is clear that demand from fans around the world was incredibly strong. Petal is off to a fantastic start on…

..PDP, ADC, others kick, say tariff outrageous, exorbitant By Ike Uchechukwu CALABAR — The Cross River State Signage and Advertisement Agency, CRISSAA, has fixed N150 million as the tariff for outdoor campaign advertisements by presidential candidates ahead of the 2027 general elections. Under the new tariff, governorship candidates are to pay N100 million, while senatorial, House of Representatives and State House of Assembly candidates are required to pay N50 million, N25 million and N5 million respectively. The Director-General of CRISSAA, Ubong Sam, disclosed this during an interactive session with the Inter-Party Advisory Council, IPAC, in Calabar. Sam also directed political…

An angling club has said a fish kill in a County Down river is the “worst environmental event” it has ever witnessed.The Department of Environment (Daera) said 5km of the Kilkeel River in the Mournes area was impacted and they are investigating the incident which took place last week.A spokesperson said trout, eels and lamprey were all confirmed dead.Kilkeel Angling Club said the scale of the destruction was “devastating”.Daera said “no active discharge was found” but “a definite line of enquiry is being followed regarding the source of the pollution”.They added the number of fish killed remains to be confirmed.Kilkeel…

By Enitan Abdultawab Former Super Falcons forward Francisca Ordega has attributed Nigeria’s failure to secure automatic qualification for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup to inadequate preparation for the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations. The Super Falcons’ hopes of defending their continental title ended in disappointing fashion after they suffered a 1-0 quarter-final defeat to Cameroon on Sunday, their earliest-ever exit from the WAFCON. Speaking to ESPN after the setback, Ordega was critical of the team’s preparation for the tournament, stressing that proper planning was essential given that World Cup qualification was at stake. “Of course not,” Ordega said…

WTSL, the Silver Lake-backed firm led by Patrick Whitesell, has made a strategic investment in Alex Cooper’s Unwell media company.  The exact figure was not disclosed, but the funding values the business, which includes Cooper’s Call Her Daddy podcast and other media, at $500 million. The plan is to use the investment to grow the company, including through acquisition.  “Trust has become the ultimate distribution channel and seventy million women a month tune-into Unwell,” Cooper said. “We’re scaling on all fronts, combining nimbleness, social-first premium content, and our understanding of culture to serve this highly influential audience. With WTSL’s backing,…

With 13 political parties fielding candidates for Saturday’s governorship election, the race for the Osun State Government House has entered its decisive phase. Across the state’s 30 local government areas, the candidates are criss-crossing communities, selling their records, programmes and political promises to voters ahead of the poll. Although 14 candidates were initially on the ballot, barely a week before the election, Adesina Adeyemi-Doro, the candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), withdrew from the contest and endorsed the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Bola Oyebamiji. Mr Adeyemi-Doro will still be on the ballot despite his withdrawal. The contest…

If European states seize vessels with Russian cargo, Moscow will respond in kind ‘wherever necessary’, says Putin.Published On 12 Aug 202612 Aug 2026Russia’s President Vladimir Putin has threatened to seize European vessels if European states follow through on plans to seize more commercial ships with Russian cargo.Putin delivered the warning on Wednesday while on board a Russian cruiser off the Pacific island of Sakhalin, where Russia’s navy was conducting a drill. He said Russia would be ready to carry out its own seizures “wherever we deem it necessary and appropriate,” according to Russia’s TASS news agency.Recommended Stories list of 3…

Funmi Ogundare  Sara Foundation Africa has equipped 700 young Nigerian graduates with workplace-ready skills and referred 696 qualified participants into the candidate pool of the Nigerian Jubilee Fellows Programme (NJFP), following an intensive employability readiness initiative conducted in partnership with the Office of the Vice-President. The Founder, Sara Foundation Africa, Sarah Inem Kalu, disclosed that the initiative, delivered through its Graduate Journey Pathway (GJP), attracted more than 1,000 applications within one week, exceeding its initial target of preparing and referring 500 graduates for the Federal Government’s flagship graduate placement programme. The programme was implemented in collaboration with the Senior Special…