Author: News Room

Former Nigerian Olympian and sports administrator, Yusuf Alli, has stated that the maiden National Intermediate Games, branded EKO 2026, will serve as a litmus test for states genuinely investing in grassroots athlete development versus those relying on recruiting established talents to boost medal counts. Scheduled to run from 1 to 15 October in Lagos, EKO 2026 will feature athletes aged 15 to 18 competing across 28 sports. Organisers expect more than 14,000 athletes from Nigeria’s 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, as well as athletes from the diaspora, to participate in the inaugural edition. Mr Alli, who is part…

An Italian Catholic priest, Sandro Ferretto, has left the priesthood and married a Kenyan woman, Sharon Jepng’ok, in a traditional ceremony in Baringo County, Kenya. Ferretto, 55, wed Jepng’ok, a Tugen woman from Baringo South, on September 6 at Seretion village, Kasiela — the same area where he served as a Catholic parish priest for 12 years, according to the Kenya Times, which broke the story alongside Kenyan outlet Tuko.co.ke. The couple were joined through a Koito ceremony, a Kalenjin customary rite involving dowry negotiation and family blessings. Relatives, community elders, local leaders and Jepng’ok’s colleagues reportedly attended. Ferretto was…

CBS is returning for a jam-packed fall 2026 season — but when can fans expect Tracker, Yellowstone spinoff Marshals and NCIS to return? The network released a guide to both scripted and unscripted premieres ahead of each show’s return. CBS also provided a synopsis for each premiere, which gives a glimpse into what fans can expect. Keep scrolling for a full breakdown of when each show premieres — and what happens in each episode: ‘Survivor’ (September 23) Castaways marooned in remote Fiji embark upon the Open Era of Survivor and battle to win $1 million. The catchphrase of the season,…

Nigerians in the United Kingdom have expressed displeasure over delays, long waiting times and poor organisation that has characterised the conduct of the Special Passport Intervention. Across social media platforms, many Nigerians living in the UK decried the difficulty of accessing the passport services that the National Immigration Service (NIS) promised months ago. The NIS first announced the intervention in August. The exercise aims to help Nigerians in the UK obtain new passports, renew existing ones, and resolve pending passport applications. It is also an effort to clear the backlog of passport applications among Nigerians in the UK. PREMIUM TIMES…

The Federal Government has been urged to integrate the Nigeria Education Loan Fund with Nigeria Revenue Service income data to strengthen student loan recovery. The recommendation was contained in a policy brief released on Monday by a Nigerian higher education policy think tank, The iRead To Live Initiative. Since its portal launch in May 2024, it has disbursed a total of N355.87bn in student loans as of September 2026. The brief titled “Can NELFUND Sustain Itself? Financing Nigeria’s Student Loan Scheme,” warned that the N355.87bn disbursed by NELFUND to about 850,000 beneficiaries could be difficult to recover under the existing…

Get a rundown of Us‘ top stories making headlines in celebrity news, sports and entertainment on September 7, 2026. Here are the key takeaways: • Taylor Swift broke down the double meanings behind her Toy Story 5 track “I Knew It, I Knew You,” explaining on iHeartCountry House Party that the word “daze” doubles as “days” and that lyrics about parachutes and blades of grass nod to both childhood memory and the toys’ point of view, Swift told the show in an interview aired September 5. Thank You! You have successfully subscribed. • Millie Bobby Brown shared a rare video…

The Chairman of First HoldCo Plc, Femi Otedola, has described the company’s inclusion in the FTSE Frontier 50 Index as a “defining milestone” in the evolution of the financial services group. FirstHoldCo is scheduled to join the FTSE Frontier 50 Index, a benchmark tracking leading and investable companies across frontier markets, effective 21 September 2026. The inclusion places FirstHoldCo among six Nigerian companies represented in the index. It is expected to strengthen its visibility among global institutional investors seeking exposure to Nigeria and other frontier markets. Mr Otedola, in a statement issued on Monday, said the development affirmed the transformation…

The Niger State Police Command says it has arrested 21 hoodlums over thuggery  and possession of dangerous weapons as well as one suspected armed robber. Some of the miscreants were said to have been caught disturbing the public peace and being in possession of locally made pistols at a mining site. In the case of the suspected notorious armed robbery suspect, 20-year-old Yusuf Musa  of Angwan-Kadara, Maitumbi in Minna, he was said to have been arrested with assorted items stolen from residents. The Niger State state Police spokesman Wasiu Abiodun who confirmed the arrests said there was a manhunt for…

Purported white-hat hackers returned 3,400 Bitcoin worth about $270 million to the Liquid Federation wallet after withdrawing roughly $320 million from the Bitcoin sidechain’s reserves. On Monday, JAN3 CEO and former Blockstream executive Samson Mow said the return followed confirmation from Blockstream that the affected bridge nodes had been patched. He said about 598 BTC remains outstanding and that Blockstream continues to engage with the actors.The return follows a Sunday security incident in which hackers withdrew about 4,000 BTC from the wallet’s roughly 4,200 BTC. Onchain records show that exactly 3,400 BTC was transferred back to the federation’s wallet address. Blockstream said…

Adam22 and wife Lena the Plug have split two months after the adult film star claimed that a divorce filing earlier this summer was a hoax. “I would like to formally announce that my wife and I are officially separated,” Adam, 42, said on his “No Jumper” podcast on Monday, September 7. “We have ran into some issues and at this time, we have decided to put our relationship on ice for a period of time.” The YouTuber (real name Adam John Grandmaison) continued, “Will we end up back together? There is certainly a possibility.” Adam admitted that he and…