Author: News Room

The World Bank is set to approve a $500m loan to Nigeria on Friday (today) as part of efforts to expand access to finance for micro, small and medium enterprises across the country. The proposed facility, titled the Fostering Inclusive Finance for MSMEs in Nigeria (FINCLUDE) Project, aims to mobilise private capital and promote innovative financial products for small businesses, according to information obtained from the World Bank. Negotiations on the loan are ongoing, and approval by the World Bank Group’s board is expected on Friday. The approval, expected on December 19, 2025, will see the World Bank commit $500m…

The Ogun State Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development, Adijat Adeleye, on Tuesday said that the state recorded 502 cases of gender-based violence between January and November 2025, resulting in two convictions, while 28 cases remain pending in court. Adeleye described the figure as alarming and indicative of a deepening crisis affecting women, girls, and other vulnerable persons in the state. She said the cases include sexual assault, domestic abuse, child molestation, digital harassment, and intimate partner violence, among others. The Commissioner stressed that this grim reality underscores the urgent need for stronger legal safeguards and coordinated institutional action…

Manchester United forward, Bruno Fernandes, has named a star-studded five-a-side team, led by Cristiano Ronaldo and Paul Pogba, drawing on players he has shared the pitch with during his career. According to Planet Football on Friday, Fernandes, speaking to Rio Ferdinand on the latest episode of Rio Ferdinand Presents, the Manchester United and Portugal midfielder revealed a selection so front-footed it would make even Ange Postecoglou raise an eyebrow. Fernandes began with the one concession to defending he was prepared to make. After some hesitation, he settled on Pepe as his sole defender, edging out Raphael Varane simply because of…

Nigerian music executive Michael Collins Ajereh, popularly known as Don Jazzy, on Saturday hit back at social media critics who dragged a young woman on X with the name Itohan Supremos Baby with her handle #itohan_olat. This is a sequel to his private donation to support her initiative, where she helps people with health challenges, with some labelling her “greedy” and a “scam.” The criticism intensified after she received the funds, prompting Don Jazzy to respond to one user, #maxvayshia, who tweeted: “Men encourage bad behaviours in women. That girl didn’t even deserve further response from Don Jazzy. Just air…

Chief Okemiri Alex is the President-General of the Igbo Political Network. In this interview with EDWARD NNACHI, he speaks on the recent court judgment that sentenced Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, to life imprisonment, among other matters. How do you see the judgment? What’s your take on it? The life sentence handed down to Nnamdi Kanu raises serious concerns about justice, fairness, and the rule of law. This is a case in which the Federal Government has repeatedly disobeyed valid court orders directing his release. It is difficult to speak of justice when the state itself…

Coinbase is taking three US states to court in a bid to lock in federal protection for its planned prediction markets, opening a new front in the battle over whether event contracts are finance or gambling.​The exchange has sued regulators in Connecticut, Illinois, and Michigan, asking federal judges to declare that prediction markets listed on a US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)-regulated platform fall under the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) and the CFTC’s exclusive jurisdiction, not 50 separate state gambling codes.In a Friday X post, chief legal officer Paul Grewal said Coinbase filed the cases “to confirm what is clear:…

Corey Haim’s mom, Judy Haim, slammed Corey Feldman for accusing her late son of molesting him. Judy said in an interview with TMZ on Thursday, December 18 that “there is no way in hell” Corey, who died in 2010 at age 38, ever molested Feldman, now 54, because he was attracted to women. “I don’t care if someone is gay, but I am not gay or any of that stuff,” she told the outlet, claiming that her son “was a one-woman man” and was “not into men.” Judy claimed that Feldman is lying about her son because “he doesn’t want…

President Bola Tinubu has urged governors and leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to rally behind proposals for state police and the full implementation of local government autonomy, saying the party’s growing political dominance must be matched by concrete governance reforms. The president made the appeal at the 14th meeting of the APC National Caucus in Abuja on Thursday, where he challenged governors to support the recent Supreme Court judgment granting financial autonomy to local government councils and to ensure strict compliance with its provisions. The APC National Caucus meeting is one of the party’s highest decision-making fora, bringing…

It was always going to take diplomatic engagement for the situation to be resolved, but diplomacy requires time and patience. Minister Tuggar and the Foreign Relations team applied tact and diplomatic know-how in this case, reaffirming the importance of dialogue, confidence-building, and the effectiveness of diplomacy in addressing sensitive issues. It is good to see that the engagement with the Burkinabè authorities achieved results. “Nigeria has never had expansionist tendencies, never been threatening towards our neighbours, and always chosen the path of peace and conciliation. This, in part, may have to do with the makeup of our polity and social…

Stakeholders have called for increased funding, stronger public awareness, and coordinated action to effectively curb antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in Nigeria. They made the call in Abuja on Thursday at a multi-stakeholder engagement on resource allocation for AMR surveillance and containment in the country. In her presentation titled “National AMR Landscape – Policies, Surveillance and Resource Allocations in Nigeria,” Omolara Oyinlola, a global health and strategic communications specialist, described AMR as a One Health challenge affecting humans, animals and the environment. Ms Oyinlola said that although Nigeria has made incremental improvements in AMR surveillance, significant gaps remain. She noted that surveillance…