Anthony Joshua, Fury agree to two-fight deal

According to Anthony Joshua’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua have agreed to meet in two blockbuster fights.

Hearn who has been in negotiations with Fury’s camp for several weeks said that the terms were in place for the British world heavyweight champions to go head to head.

No contracts have been signed yet, but Hearn expects WBA, IBF and WBO belt holder, Anthony Joshua to face WBC champion Fury to determine the undisputed king of the heavyweight scene in 2021.

“We’re making great progress. There is still a lot to overcome. We are looking at venues and dates,” Hearn said.

“We’re in a good place,” he added. 

“It’s fair to say that, in principle, both guys have agreed to that fight. Two fights. (There’s) a lot to overcome in the meantime. We’re moving in the right direction. I’m confident that both guys have given their blessings for the fight to go ahead.”

Hearn said the first bout could happen in the summer of 2021. Joshua is due to fight Bulgarian Kubrat Pulev next, while Fury has a rematch due with American Deontay Wilder.

AfDB Vice President, Blanke resigns

Dr Jennifer Blanke, the Vice President for Agriculture, Human and Social Development at the African Development Bank (AfDB), has resigned her position.

This was disclosed by the AfDB in a statement on Wednesday. It said that Blanke’s resignation would take effect from July 4, 2020.

Ex-soldier shoots four year old birthday boy

It has been reported that an ex-soldier shot a four year old boy dead on his birthday in Brazil.

The child who was identified as Enzo dos Santos, was shot dead by an ex-soldier at his own Incredible Hulk-themed birthday party.

Enzo had died after being shot in the chest in front of his parents, two siblings and other party guests.

The ex-soldier, Pedro Pevidor who had just left the army allegedly gatecrashed the party.

Pedro claimed that his weapon accidentally fell from his waistband and fired as it hit the ground.

Witnesses claimed they saw the suspect arguing with the little boy, Enzo, before hugging him then inexplicably shooting him at point-blank range in the chest on Sunday evening.

Enzo’s mother, Vanessa, 30, said the suspect, who appeared to be drunk, was not an invited guest but had arrived at the party with a friend. She said, 

“We can’t understand what happened, it makes no sense that someone should kill my innocent child for no apparent reason. We are totally bewildered and destroyed by this.”

The child was rushed to the hospital accompanied by his mother but died from his injuries.

Pedro was remanded in custody on Tuesday after appearing before a judge in a closed court hearing, he is being investigated on suspicion of homicide.

Tinubu - No cold war between Aregbesola and I

The National Leader of All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Bola Tinubu has said that there is no cold war between Aregbesola and himself.

He debunked speculations of any cold war between him and the Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, stating that he remains his leader.

Tinubu, in a statement by his media adviser, Tunde Rahman, stated that ‘there is no war, cold or hot, between us.”

The Governor’s Advisory Council (GAC), which is the highest decision-making body within the APC in Lagos, has passed a resolution calling for the disbandment of all factional groups within the party.

There were online media reports that the resolution had worsened a phantom cold war between Tinubu and Aregbesola.

Tinubu, however, said that there had never been and there would never be any form of misunderstanding between the two of them following the dissolution of the groups.

He said that Aregbesola, a former governor of Osun, had been unswervingly and wholly committed to the progressive ideology of Tinubu’s political family.

“Today, the Governor’s Advisory Council, the highest decision-making body within the All Progressives Congress in Lagos State, passed a resolution calling for the disbandment of all factional groups within the party.

This was to promote discipline, harmony and cohesion and engender party supremacy. The APC is one united political family in Lagos. I remain Ogbeni Aregbesola’s leader,” Tinubu said.

The former governor of Lagos said: 

“Our political family remains strong. The GAC is a very strong body within the APC leadership structure in Lagos.

And we are staying focused in our commitment to building and maintaining a cohesive political party. Its resolution is not targeted at any particular individual or collection of individuals.

The resolution was to restate the often-stated position that the only group known to us is APC and not any of the factional groups. The GAC position does not imply any division within the group.

The resolution is well-meaning and should not be misinterpreted”.

Tinubu expressed disappointment in the claims, adding that to do so impulsively as the authors of the report had done was to take the frontier of reporting away from facts to the realm of groundless speculations.

He noted that the GAC position does not imply any division within the group.

“The resolution is well-meaning and should not be misinterpreted. It was to renew the commitment to APC and its unity. Ogbeni Aregbesola is a strong member of the political family,” he said.

COVID-19 : Ogun records 108 cases in 24 hours

Ogun State has recorded 108 cases of coronavirus in the past 24 hours. This brings the total number of COVID-19 cases in the state increased to 471.

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control revealed that while 13 have died of coronavirus-related complications, 186 have recovered in Ogun State.

Data from the NCDC showed that the state currently has 272 active COVID-19 cases. The centre said, 

“On the 9th of June 2020, 663 new confirmed cases and 4 deaths were recorded in Nigeria. No new state has reported a case in the last 24 hours.

Till date, 13464 cases have been confirmed, 4206 cases have been discharged and 365 deaths have been recorded in 35 states and the Federal Capital Territory.

The 663 new cases are reported from 26 states- Lagos (170), Ogun (108), Bauchi (69), Ebonyi (49), Edo (33), Rivers (30), FCT (26), Jigawa (26), Delta (20), Anambra (17), Gombe (16), Kano (16), Imo (15), Abia (14), Borno (11), Oyo (11), Plateau (8), Kebbi (6), Kaduna (6), Ondo (4), Niger (2), Katsina (2), Osun (1), Ekiti (1), Kwara (1), Nasarawa (1).”

Borno : Governor orders reopening of schools

The Governor of Borno State, Babagana Zulum, has given orders for the reopening of three secondary schools in Bama Local Government.

In a press statement which was issued by the state government, the governor was quoted to have given the order during his visit to the area to distribute food and other items “to those in critical need”.

After the distribution, Zulum announced the reopening of three secondary schools in Bama, saying it was to enable pupils to continue with their education. Zulum said,

“I will soon come back to Bama, I will personally supervise the enrollment of students. We have to reopen Government Day Secondary School, the mega school will also be converted to a Secondary School, while a girls’ Secondary School will be cited in Shettimari Primary School temporarily”.

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control announced 663 new cases of coronavirus on Tuesday, bringing the number of confirmed infections in the country to 13,464.

This is the highest single-day infection to be recorded in the country.

Borno has 136 active COVID-19 cases while nine patients have died of coronavirus-related cases.

Data from the centre showed that Lagos, Ogun, and Bauchi recorded the highest number of COVID-19 cases on Tuesday. It said, 

“On the 9th of June 2020, 663 new confirmed cases and 4 deaths were recorded in Nigeria.

No new state has reported a case in the last 24 hours.

Till date, 13464 cases have been confirmed, 4206 cases have been discharged and 365 deaths have been recorded in 35 states and the Federal Capital Territory.

The 663 new cases are reported from 26 states- Lagos (170), Ogun (108), Bauchi (69), Ebonyi (49), Edo (33), Rivers (30), FCT (26), Jigawa (26), Delta (20), Anambra (17), Gombe (16), Kano (16), Imo (15), Abia (14), Borno (11), Oyo (11), Plateau (8), Kebbi (6), Kaduna (6), Ondo (4), Niger (2), Katsina (2), Osun (1), Ekiti (1), Kwara (1), Nasarawa (1).”

Senate to consider revised 2020 budget on Thursday

The Senate has disclosed that it is set to consider the revised 2020 budget on Thursday, 11th June, 2020. The hint was given by the President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan.

According to a statement, this happened on Wednesday during plenary after the Committee on Appropriation laid the report on the 2020 revised budget.

“Tomorrow, we can receive and consider the report to ensure that we don’t delay anything as important as that. So, this is the essence of altering the order paper,” Lawan said.

On Tuesday, the Senate deferred the presentation of the report over a delay by the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, to provide details for the sum of N186 billion, an amount which is part of the N500 billion COVID-19 intervention fund.

Chairman of the Appropriations Committee, Senator Barau Jibrin, on Tuesday, had explained to his colleagues that the Finance Ministry was yet to comply with the request of the Committee by attaching necessary details for the amount to be captured as part of the 2020 budget amendment bill.

However, the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, on Wednesday disclosed that the Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning had complied with the request of the Appropriations Committee by providing the relevant details for the outstanding N186 billion.

“The development, according to him, makes it expedient for the upper chamber to consider the revised 2020 budget on Thursday during plenary,” the statement added.

Court acquits girl who allegedly killed father's friend

The magistrate court in Lagos has acquitted a fifteen year old girl who was accused of murder.

The fifteen year old girl whose name is withheld, was accused of killing her father's 51 year old friend, Babatunde Ishola when he was trying to rape her. 

The Lagos Magistrate court which was sitting in Yaba on Wednesday released her based on the legal advice of the Lagos State Director of Public Prosecution that the “case lacked ingredients of murder”.

Rachel Adedeji quits Hollyoaks after four years

Actress of Hollyoaks, Rachel Adedeji has taken a bow from the show after four years. It can be recalled that she played the role of Lisa Loveday on the Channel 4 soap.

It was reported that the British-Nigerian actress took the decision to leave the show last year and her exit was filmed shortly before lockdown.

Lisa's exit from the village will air in the next two months. A spokesperson of Hollyoaks said,

"Rachel made the decision to leave Hollyoaks to pursue other opportunities earlier last year which saddened us at Hollyoaks as she is one of the leading cast members in the show. 

However, the notice period did allow the writers time to give Lisa Loveday an extremely gripping exit storyline. Viewers will see this story play out later this year as her final scenes were filmed shortly before lockdown.”

Rachel's spokesman added: 

"It had always been our intention for Rachel to leave the show after a period of time. She loved her time on Hollyoaks and the exit storyline was openly discussed with the producers and her together, in a collaborative format."

Boy who defiled neighbour's daughter blames the devil

A 20 year old boy who defiled his neighbour's three year old daughter has blamed his actions on the devil.

The boy who was identified as Mubarak Musa said he hails from Shanono in Kano State.

He made his confession in a video which has gone viral. In the video, he said that he stepped out to go see his friend and saw the little girl.

He then asked her to accompany him to his friend's house. She did and when they got there, his friend wasn't home, so he took her in to a room and raped her.

Musa swore it was his first time. He claimed it was fate that it happened and blamed the the devil for pushing him to do it.