Author: News Room

When Akaninyene Akpan’s wife was wheeled into surgery in Abuja, another man stood beside her. It was not because Mr Akpan had abandoned his family. It was because he was hundreds of kilometres away in Lagos, unable to obtain paternity leave from his employer. His wife had developed complications during labour and eventually delivered through a caesarean section. While her uncle accompanied her to the hospital, Mr Akpan, a teacher and football coach, could only send money from afar. “People would think he was the husband, while all I could do was send money. My child was first held by…

Nigerian Afrobeats superstar David Adedeji Adeleke has officially unveiled the tracklist for his highly anticipated sixth studio album, Oriadé, ahead of its release on Friday, 31 July. The announcement coincides with the award-winning singer’s 15th anniversary in the music industry, marking a decade and a half since the release of his breakout single, ‘Back When’, in 2011. The upcoming album comprises 13 tracks and features a diverse blend of African and international collaborators. Oriadé The title, Oriadé, is a compound of two Yoruba words: ‘ori’ (destiny) and ‘adé’ (crown), translating to “crowned destiny” or “fulfilled purpose”. The project serves as…

Nigeria’s hopes of winning a sprint medal at the 2026 Commonwealth Games now rest on Kanyinsola Ajayi after he emerged as the country’s only finalist from a team of six athletes that competed in the men’s and women’s 100m semi-finals on Tuesday in Glasgow. Ajayi produced a composed performance to win the second men’s semi-final in 9.94 seconds despite the rainy conditions at Scotstoun Stadium, booking an automatic place in the final. The Nigerian finished ahead of Wales’ Jeremiah Azu, who clocked 10.00 seconds, while Ghana’s Abdul-Rasheed Saminu was third in 10.06 seconds. His qualification keeps Nigeria’s hopes alive after…

The Managing Director, Rural Electrification Agency, Dr Abba Aliyu, speaks with select journalists on the agency’s completion of a nationwide energy mapping exercise that identified more than 750,000 communities, as well as the central role of electricity in driving economic growth and supporting emerging technologies. OKECHUKWU NNODIM was there How important is reliable electricity to Nigeria’s development, particularly as Artificial Intelligence continues to reshape the global economy? Power stimulates economic development and growth, enhances agriculture, improves the quality of health services, and enhances the quality of education, especially now that we are in the era of artificial intelligence. The future…

Canadian Bitcoin hardware maker Coinkite has warned users of its Coldcard Mk3 signing device to move funds from wallets whose seed phrases were generated on affected firmware. On Thursday, Coinkite said seeds created on an Mk3 running firmware version 4.0.1, released in March 2021, or any later Mk3 version may put funds at risk. The issue extends through version 5.0.3, the final firmware supporting the Mk3, while the Mk4, Q and Mk5 are not affected, according to the company’s early analysis.The warning comes as Bitcoin security specialists examine an unexplained, coordinated sweep involving 594.48 BTC from single-signature addresses. However, no definitive…

AnnaLynne McCord and her fiancé, Danny Cipriani, launched a crowdfunding campaign to help cover the costs of their upcoming wedding. A HuneyFund fundraising site for the soon-to-be newlyweds confirms that they will tie the knot in Los Angeles on October 22 — and they’ve taken a unique approach with their wedding registry. Instead of listing potential gifts, the Days of Our Lives actress, 39, and her international rugby star beau, 38, are crowdsourcing costs associated with the nuptials. For example, they are asking for $100 to go towards their marriage license or $125 to contribute to music for their reception.…

Three major landslides within weeks in Cross River State have drawn questions over the state’s spending on erosion and flood control. Budget documents show increased allocations in 2026 despite years of limited funding and inconsistent implementation of key intervention projects. The latest disaster recorded on Monday, along with another landslide in July, reportedly displaced residents, destroyed property and claimed at least four lives. These events have prompted environmental advocates to question whether available resources were deployed early enough to prevent the tragedies. An analysis of the state’s approved budgets and budget performance reports by PREMIUM TIMES shows that the Cross…

Nigeria’s aviation workers have issued a fresh seven-day ultimatum to airline operators and other organisations that have failed to remit the statutory five per cent Ticket Sales Charge (TSC), warning that they will embark on nationwide picketing if the outstanding debts are not settled. The notice, jointly issued by the Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN) and the National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE), follows the expiration of an earlier 14-day ultimatum served on 8 July, which lapsed on 23 July without compliance from the affected operators. The five per cent Ticket Sales Charge is a…

In the midst of the brazen, extra-judicial killings of Nigerians in South Africa, along with other Africans, on the grounds that these are illegal immigrants, the South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has now sent South Africa’s Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Ronald Lamola, and a team, as envoys to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. They arrived in the country on Friday, 24 July, but the Nigerian President declined to meet with them. They were kept waiting through-out the weekend.  On Monday, that is yesterday, they were directed instead to meet with the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Sola Enikanolaiye,…

Plateau State has recorded 441 suspected cholera cases, 26 confirmed infections and 14 deaths since an outbreak of the disease began in June. The Commissioner for Health, Nicholas Ba’amlong, disclosed this on Monday in Jos while providing an update on the outbreak. Mr Ba’amlong said the cases were recorded in Mangu, Jos North, Jos South and Barkin Ladi local government areas. He said the Ministry of Health remained on high alert and had strengthened emergency response measures to contain the outbreak. He said the ministry was working with affected councils, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) and…