Author: Press Room

Argentine television presenter Florencia Peña has resigned following a major on-air blunder in which she announced the death of Jorge Messi, father of football superstar Lionel Messi. According to a report by L’Equipe on Friday, the incident occurred during the programme “El Show del Verano” on Luzu TV. Peña was reportedly fed the false information through her earpiece by the production team. The erroneous announcement quickly spread before it was debunked by members of the Messi family. Jorge Messi is alive and has been reported to be recovering from health issues. The channel issued a statement immediately after condemning the…

Former Super Eagles captain and coach Sunday Oliseh has named Cape Verde as the African team that has impressed him the most at the ongoing 2026 FIFA World Cup, Soccernet.ng reports. In picking the small West African nation, Oliseh effectively overlooks the performances of Morocco, Ghana and several other representatives from the continent. Africa has a record 10 teams competing at the expanded 2026 World Cup tournament, and the continent has already produced a number of eye-catching results. Ghana and Ivory Coast recorded victories over Panama and Ecuador, respectively. Morocco earned a notable draw against Brazil, DR Congo held Portugal…

Photo Credit: Falz/Instagram Falz is back with something to say, and “Ole” does not waste any time saying it. The Nigerian rapper’s new single goes straight for the issues, and the title alone tells you everything — “Ole” means “thief” in Yoruba, and from there, he does not hold back. Across the track, Falz takes aim at corruption, insecurity, and the systemic struggles that define life for many Nigerians, all delivered over steady production that lets the lyrics do the heavy lifting. He references inflation, unemployment, and the pressure of trying to afford basics like healthcare, education, and security, touching…

Deborah Tolu-Kolawole The IA-Foundation has intensified efforts to keep vulnerable children in school, expanding its educational interventions in Makoko while rallying stakeholders to confront Nigeria’s growing crisis of out-of-school children. The UK-based non-governmental organisation recently carried out a welfare and academic assessment of children under its educational sponsorship programme in Makoko, unveiled a digital stakeholder portal and announced plans for a high-level summit aimed at addressing barriers to education across the country, according to a statement on Friday. The June 11 outreach to the waterfront community focused on assessing the wellbeing, school attendance and academic progress of pupils whose tuition…

Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister, Borisenko Evgenievich, has received Nigeria’s newly appointed Ambassador to Russia, Joseph Iji, in Moscow. The meeting, held on Thursday, was disclosed in a statement issued on Friday in Abuja by Ms. Daria Senyushina, Communications Officer at the Russian Embassy in Nigeria. Senyushina said Ambassador Iji presented copies of his credentials during the engagement. According to her, both sides discussed issues aimed at strengthening the long-standing friendly relations between Nigeria and Russia. She said the discussion bordered on intensifying political dialogue and deepening bilateral cooperation in trade, economic, scientific, technical, humanitarian, and other fields. Diplomatic relations between…

Super Eagles striker Kelechi Iheanacho is edging closer to a Celtic exit just nine months after joining the Record Scottish Premiership Champions, Soccernet.ng reports. The 29-year-old’s career at Parkhead has been a tale of two opposing ends. After a larger than life start in his first few months with the Hoops, hamstring injuries came in, and saw him complete just two 90-minute games in his time at the club. His minutes became measured when the legendary Martin O’Neill took over as head coach in the second half of the season, and he found joy in being an option to change…

Super Eagles invitee Zadok Yohanna has been given the assurance of security at Brighton and Hove Albion by Sweden’s World Cup starlet Yasin Ayari, Soccernet.ng reports. The 18-year-old winger, just under a year after leaving Ikon Allah Football Academy for Europe, completed a switch from Swedish side AIK worth an initial €28m, with Brighton able to pay a potential €2m in add-ons, making him the costliest player ever sold by a club in the Swedish Allsvenskan. [Previous record was Lucas Bergvall – Djurgårdens IF to Tottenham Hotspur, 2024 for €20m] The deal put Yohanna second on Nigeria’s most expensive U-20…

Ayoola Babalola The Lagos State Government has intensified its crackdown on medical quackery, urging residents to support efforts to identify and report unlicensed healthcare facilities operating across the state. The Executive Secretary of the Health Facility Monitoring and Accreditation Agency, Victoria Egunjobi, made the appeal during a one-day awareness and sensitisation campaign held in Badagry to educate residents on the dangers of patronising unqualified healthcare providers. Represented by the agency’s Director of Monitoring and Inspection, Olayinka Daniel, Egunjobi said protecting public health requires collaboration among government agencies, community leaders and residents. She urged Lagosians to seek treatment only from healthcare…

The Nigeria Democratic Congress has distanced itself from a list of purported candidates for elections in Imo, Abia and Anambra states currently circulating on social media, describing it as fake and unauthorised. In a statement issued on Friday by its National Secretary, Ikenna Enekweizu, the party urged members and the general public to disregard the lists, insisting that they did not originate from the party’s national headquarters. The NDC stated that it had already submitted the authentic list of candidates who would fly the party’s flag in the affected states to the Independent National Electoral Commission through the channels prescribed…

Chima Azubuike The Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre has urged women journalists to take the lead in the fight against tobacco use by adopting gender-sensitive reporting that highlights the disproportionate impact of tobacco on women and children. Speaking at a one-day training workshop on gender mainstreaming in tobacco control held in Gombe on Wednesday, the Executive Director of CISLAC, Comrade Ibrahim Musa-Rafsanjani, said women journalists have a crucial role to play in shaping public attitudes and influencing tobacco control policy. The workshop, organised by CISLAC with support from Tax Justice Network Africa, brought together members of the Nigeria Association of…