Author: News Room
The Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, has hosted Afrobeats star Asake and his mother at the ancient palace in Ile-Ife, describing the visit as a symbolic homecoming. The visit was revealed in a video shared by the monarch on his official X handle on Monday night, showing the singer in the company of palace chiefs and other dignitaries. In a message accompanying the video, the Ooni referred to the artiste as his son and celebrated his global rise, noting that Ile-Ife played a key role in shaping his early years. “Today fills my heart with deep joy as I…
The 2025 edition of AI Forum Nigeria has concluded in Lagos, bringing together senior business leaders, technology executives and government officials to discuss how artificial intelligence can drive enterprise transformation in Nigeria. The forum, organised by OLAK Events Management, was themed “Goodbye Digital Transformation, Hello AI First Business”, signalling a shift from conventional digitisation towards AI-first strategies. Delegates explored how Nigerian enterprises, including small and medium-sized businesses, can implement AI to improve efficiency, decision-making and competitiveness. Participation from leading corporations and innovators reflected growing national interest in artificial intelligence as a catalyst for economic growth. The Chief Executive Officer of…
As a reluctant doomsday prepper and eager vanlifer, Dometic’s battery-powered Go Faucet has, for the last few years, played a central role in my bougie bug-out kit and my camping rig’s water system. So it took me all of two minutes with Dometic’s new Recon 360 Faucet to realize it’s an upgrade in every single way that matters — and then confirmed after a week of testing it.As to the upgrades, the Recon 360 Faucet ditches the easy-to-miss touch surface for real mechanical buttons. One button produces a standard water flow to brush your teeth or fill a glass, and…
Crypto treasury company ETHZilla said in a filing with US regulators that it sold part of its Ether holdings to repay outstanding convertible notes amid a broader market downturn.The company disclosed in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission the sale of 24,291 Ether (ETH) for $74.5 million at an average price of $3,068.69 per token, leaving about 69,800 ETH on its balance sheet as of Friday. The company said it expects to use all or a significant portion of the proceeds to redeem its outstanding senior secured convertible notes. ETHZilla rebranded from 180 Life Sciences Corp on July…
Steven Spielberg once refused to direct Ben Affleck in a film, filmmaker Mike Binder claims. While appearing on a recent episode of Stephen Baldwin’s “One Bad Movie” podcast, Binder, 67, said that he and Spielberg, 79, had been in talks for the latter to direct Man About Town, which hit theaters in 2006 and starred Affleck, 53, as a hotshot Hollywood agent. “He said, ‘We gotta do something together. I want you to write something for me,’” Binder said of Spielberg. “At the time, we both lived up in the Palisades, and we were talking about power and struggles.” Binder…
Kidnappers who abducted 28 travellers in Plateau State have demanded a ransom of ₦1.5 million for each victim, a relative of one of the abducted persons has said. PREMIUM TIMES reported that the travellers were kidnapped in the Zak community, Bashar District of the Wase Local Government Area. The victims, men, women and children, were seized on Sunday night while travelling to attend a Maulud event in Sabon Layi community, also in Bashar District. Gunmen reportedly ambushed their vehicle, abducted the occupants and abandoned the bus by the roadside. A relative of one of the victims, Ibrahim Musa, told journalists…
The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has directed oil and gas companies to begin an annual salary deduction from its members to fund the activities of the PENGASSAN Foundation, its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) arm. However, the directive has sparked resistance among some union members. In a circular dated 8 December and signed by the Acting General Secretary, Jerry Amah, the directive was addressed to “all managements” in the oil and gas sector. The union said the decision was taken by its National Executive Council (NEC) at a virtual meeting held on 15 June and…
Two major public-private partnership projects approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) for the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, have remained unimplemented for more than a year after presidential approval. Documents obtained by PREMIUM TIMES show that despite securing all required regulatory clearances from the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC), approval from FEC in June 2024 and legal clearance from the Federal Ministry of Justice by June 2025, UCH hasn’t signed the concession agreements for the projects. The stalled projects are the renovation and upgrading of the School of Nursing Students’ Hostel, valued at about N929.9 million, and the refurbishment…
Afrobeats superstar Ayodeji Balogun, popularly known as Wizkid, and his woman, Jada Pollock, better known as Jada P, graced the Dance Eko 2025 festival with their appearances. The Lagos night, already buzzing with Detty December activities, was lit by the ‘Caro’ crooner and his lover. At the two-day Dance Eko festival at Groove Park, DJ Skyla Tyla, the younger sister of Jada P, also turned up the excitement. The event took place from 20 to 21 December, but the hitmaker only stormed the show on Sunday to command attention with his songs, dance, and style. Wizkid was in his element…
Super Eagles captain Wilfred Ndidi has fired a clear message ahead of Nigeria’s Group C opener against Tanzania, insisting that reputation counts for nothing at the AFCON and that complacency is the quickest route to embarrassment. Three-time champions Nigeria arrived in Morocco as overwhelming favourites against the Taifa Stars, having won four of their seven previous meetings, with the other three ending in stalemates. But history, Ndidi insists, offers no guarantees in a tournament renowned for chaos, shocks, and the collapse of giants. The Super Eagles, he stressed, are not tourists. They are contenders, he said. Africa’s premier football competition…
