ASIA China reported better-than-expected economic growth for the second quarter in the face of an ongoing trade war with the United States, as diversification efforts to non-US markets buoyed exports. Gross domestic product (GDP) expanded 5.2% in the second quarter from the same period a year earlier, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) at a press conference on Tuesday. That was higher than the average prediction of 5.1%, based on a poll of 40 economists surveyed by Reuters on Friday. The GDP growth in the second quarter was a slowdown from a 5.4% expansion in the first three…
Author: Reporter
As part of its preparation for the 2027 general elections, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, is to commence nationwide Continuous Voter Registration, CVR, on August 18, 2025. INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner, REC, for Benue State, Prof. Sam Egwu, who disclosed this in Makurdi on Monday. Prof. Egwu explained that the CVR exercise was in line with constitutional provisions to accommodate those who had attained 18 years after the previous election. He added that it would take place in the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, stressing that it would commence with online pre-registration which…
San Antonio Spurs sensation Victor Wembanyama says he has been cleared to return to the court after recovering from a blood clot in his right shoulder. The 21-year-old, who was selected with the number one overall pick in the 2023 NBA draft and is widely considered one of basketball’s most exciting prospects in a generation, was forced to end his 2024-25 season early following the diagnosis of deep vein thrombosis. Victor Wembanyama looks on during the 2025 Women’s Volleyball Nations League match between France and Belgium at National Indoor Stadium on June 6, 2025 in Beijing, China. Wembanyama underwent surgery…
OSOGBO Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, on Monday, took a swipe at the Interim National Secretary of the African Democratic Congress, Rauf Aregbesola, saying the former governor left huge debt for his predecessors in office. Aregbesola, who was governor between November 27, 2010, and November 27, 2018, had enjoyed a cordial public relationship with Adeleke since the latter became governor in November 2022. He was in Osogbo, the state capital, on Sunday, where he mobilised supporters for the 2027 election in the country. The former governor also wooed voters to join him in the ADC, promising that the party would…
Super Eagles legend Segun Odegbami has issued an emotional appeal for support for retired Nigerian athletes, citing the critical illness of 1980 AFCON winner Kadiri Ikhana as the latest example of the dire situation facing the country’s football legends. In a heartfelt statement on Monday morning, Odegbami revealed that Ikhana was fighting for his life at Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital in Auchi, Edo State, whilst calling on government agencies and kindhearted Nigerians to intervene. The former Nigeria winger expressed frustration at having to make yet another appeal for a critically ill former international, highlighting the pattern of neglect that has…
DELTA Suspected kidnappers have reportedly abducted a government contractor, Mr Lucky Ugbo, in Ogwashi-Uku, Aniocha South Local Government Area of Delta State. The Pundit gleaned information on Monday that the victim was kidnapped around 8.45 pm over four days ago at his residence, along Isah Road in the community and was said to have made contact on Sunday, demanding N100m ransom. Community sources, who lived close to Ugbo’s house, told our correspondent that the operation was carried out by heavily-armed gunmen, who invaded Ugbo’s residence and took him away at gunpoint. “The gunmen were heavily armed and were dressed like…
The drama around Victor Osimhen’s summer transfer continued on Monday. The player was conspicuously absent as Napoli opened their preseason training yesterday in Naples with 14 players. The 26-year-old Nigerian who ended his 10-month season-long loan spell at Galatasaray on July 1, was expected to resume at Napoli despite ongoing negotiations by the Turkish giants to sign him permanently this summer transfer window. He’s on contract until June 2026. According to Transfer Expert, Matteo Moretto, on his YouTube channel yesterday, instead of Osimhen resuming at Napoli, he turned in medical certificate to be excused from the first day of pre-season…
The lawmaker representing Kogi Central, Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan has dismissed the appeal filed by Senate President Godswill Akpabio, seeking to overturn a Federal High Court ruling that ordered her reinstatement to the Senate. Akpabio, through his legal team, approached the Court of Appeal in Abuja to challenge the July 4 judgment delivered by Justice Binta Nyako, which nullified Akpoti-Uduaghan’s six-month suspension from the Red Chamber and declared it “excessive” and without legal basis. The appeal, filed on July 14 and marked CA/A//2025, arose from suit number FHC/ABJ/CS/384/2025 instituted by the embattled Kogi Central lawmaker to challenge her suspension. Akpabio is…
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will today (Tuesday) lead a high-level Federal Government delegation to the burial ceremony of late Nigerian leader, Muhammadu Buhari, and is expected to receive the remains of the deceased former President of Nigeria at the Katsina Airport later in the day. Buhari will be buried today at his home in Daura, Katsina State and ahead of that, the President constituted an inter-ministerial committee for a state burial for Buhari, who died in London on Sunday at the age of 82. The inter-ministerial committee chaired by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume,…
Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, has applied to begin work on a seaport near his fertilizer and oil refinery plants to make it easier to export goods, including liquefied natural gas, Bloomberg News reported yesterday. The proposed Atlantic seaport which is located in Olokola, Ogun state, will link the conglomerate’s logistics and export operations and rival facilities in Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial capital, it stated. Dangote plans to export liquefied gas from Lagos, a project that will involve constructing pipelines from Nigeria’s oil-rich Niger Delta, according to Devakumar Edwin, Vice President of the group. Aliko Dangote has applied to begin work…