Author: News Room

At least four teams have made it into the fourth round of this season’s FA Cup. This follows the conclusion of Friday’s third round ties around the UK. Wrexham qualified via a penalty shoot-out success, after their game with Nottingham Forest ended 3-3. Arthur Okonkwo was the hero for the hosts, saving Omari Hutchinson’s effort. The result means Wrexham have beat a Premier League team in the FA Cup for the first time in 26 years. Oxford United also beat MK Dons 4-3 on penalties after the tie ended 1-1. Port Vale claimed a 1-0 victory over Fleetwood and Wigan…

A forensic audit firm, SALLY TIBBOT Consulting Limited, has accused the Osun State Government of inserting a total of 8,452 alleged ghost workers into the state’s payroll and paying them a sum of N13,716,914,129.28 annually. The allegation was made by the Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the firm, Sa’adat Bakrin-Ottun, who spoke through the company’s legal counsel, Jiti Ogunye, at a press conference held at the Nigeria Union of Journalists Secretariat in Lagos on Friday. Bakrin-Ottun said the figures emerged from a comprehensive forensic audit and payroll validation exercise conducted for the Osun State Government, which, according…

Nigeria’s U-20 Women’s National Team, the Falconets, have resumed camping in Abuja ahead of their FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup qualifying fixture against Senegal. The team opened camp on Saturday, January 4, at the Westpoint Hotel, with 17 players currently in residence. Additional invited players are expected to arrive in the coming days to complete the roster. Head Coach Moses Aduku confirmed that preparations are on course, with ongoing assessments and structured training sessions focusing on team cohesion, tactical organisation and physical conditioning. Nigeria will host the first leg of the third-round qualifying fixture at the Lekan Salami Stadium, Ibadan,…

As the global economy increasingly pivots toward experience-driven and identity-based markets, cultural strategist, Wilson Chibututu, has called on African nations to move beyond the long-standing rhetoric of “potential” and embrace what he describes as “cultural intentionality” by 2026. Chibututu, who is the co-founder of Our Heritage Branding and Advertising Limited, said Africa’s challenge has never been a lack of cultural value but a failure to treat culture as a serious economic asset capable of driving gross domestic product, employment and global relevance. He argued that while countries such as France, Italy, Thailand and the United Arab Emirates have positioned tourism…

New York Representative Ritchie Torres, with the backing of more than 30 other Democrats in the House of Representatives, has introduced legislation following a Polymarket user netting $400,000 on a bet related to the removal of then-Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. In a Friday notice, Torres said he had introduced the Public Integrity in Financial Prediction Markets Act of 2026. According to the New York representative, the bill would prohibit “federal elected officials, political appointees, Executive Branch employees, and congressional staff from buying, selling, or exchanging prediction market contracts tied to government policy, government action, or political outcomes when they possess material…

UPDATE — 1/9/26, 5:58 p.m. ET: Jaxson Dart and Marissa Ayers are Instagram official, thanks to a carousel that Ayers posted to her account on Friday, January 9, showing the couple in a series of PDA-filled moments. The photos ranged from on the football field to at home and in the snow, with the pair sharing a kiss or posing with each other in most of them. “Rumor has it… @jaxsondart,” Ayers captioned the post, a nod to the long-standing rumors that the two are an item. Original story: If there was any doubt about New York Giants quarterback Jaxson…

As we continue into the first month of 2026, we reflect on some of the most consequential investigations published by PREMIUM TIMES in 2025. Over the past 12 months, this newspaper has produced a wide range of investigations, exclusives and special reports in the public interest. These stories cut across governance, corruption, accountability, insecurity, the environment, health, and human rights. Many of the stories garnered both local and international attention and, in many cases, triggered reforms and public debate. In this report, we bring back some of these investigations. For those who followed the reports as they unfolded, this is…

For many years, I have maintained a sustained and discerning interest in Nigeria’s real estate sector, gradually assembling what might fairly be described as a modest portfolio.It has not been easy though. Residing on the other side of the Atlantic and far removed from the immediacies of home, I was compelled to rely on a network of suppliers, many of whom I cultivated over time and entrusted with confidence and loyalty. Regrettably, that trust was often violated. The pattern became grimly familiar: padded invoices, quiet substitution of inferior materials, imaginative bookkeeping, and a relentless inclination to prey upon the vulnerability…

Some businesses and traders may be taking advantage of the newly introduced tax laws to arbitrarily increase the prices of goods and services in different parts of the country, Saturday PUNCH findings have shown. Since the commencement of the new tax laws in January, the Federal Government has maintained that the laws would reduce certain taxes and stimulate growth without short-term revenue increases. However, recent developments indicate that some business owners are already raising the prices of their goods and services, attributing the hikes to the tax laws. Saturday PUNCH gathered that the increases have come in the form of…

The Nigerian Navy has been accused of continuing construction on a disputed parcel of land in Lagos despite existing court injunctions, as a High Court of Lagos State sitting in Epe adjourned hearing of an interlocutory application to March 2, 2026. The dispute involves two suits filed by Al-Gasali Global Ventures Limited and the Incorporated Trustees of Lekki Coastal Area Development Association against the Nigerian Navy and the Chief of Naval Staff. The suits, numbered EPD/15767/2024 and EPD/15769LMW/2024, relate to land located in Origanrigan, Oshoroko and parts of the Lekki axis in Ibeju-Lekki Local Government Area of Lagos State. Court…