Author: Alade Adisa

Former Syrian President, Bashar al-Assad has broken his silence since the fall of his regime, claiming he never intentionally fled to Russia — and blaming his troops for the stunning collapse. A post Monday on Assad’s former Telegram channel claims he merely left the capital on Dec. 8 to meet with Russian forces in the Latakia province “to oversee combat operations” as Syrian rebels stormed Damascus. Amid the assault, Assad said, he was forced to evacuate among the Russian troops, who took him to Moscow, from where he allegedly still planned to lead. Assad was allegedly forced to evacuate from…

English Premier League giants Manchester United have reportedly reignited their pursuit of Super Eagles striker Victor Osimhen as they seek to address their attacking woes. News360 Nigeria reports that the Nigerian international has emerged as a top target for United’s new manager, Ruben Amorim, following the struggles of Marcus Rashford and Joshua Zirkzee. Osimhen, currently on loan at Galatasaray from Napoli, has been in exceptional form in Turkey, scoring 10 goals and providing five assists in just 13 appearances across all competitions. Amorim’s decision to exclude Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho from the squad for Sunday’s Manchester derby highlights his determination…

The Edo State House of Assembly, Tuesday, suspended all the Chairmen and Vice Chairmen of the 18 Local Government Councils over allegations of ‘misappropriation of funds.’ The decision to suspend the local council administrators was taken during the plenary, after a heated debate by the various lawmakers representing the local councils. Meanwhile, the heads of the various legislative arm have been directed to oversee the running of the councils for the next two months.

President Bola Tinubu has appointed Aisha Garba, an international development specialist, as the Executive Secretary of Universal Basic Education (UBEC). The President’s spokesman, Bayo Onanuga, said in a statement, “Aisha Garba, a Senior Education Specialist with the World Bank, brings more than 24 years of experience driving impactful programmes in education for human and economic development, working in Nigeria, Ghana, Somalia, Kenya, the USA, and the United Kingdom. “With over 15 years of hands-on experience at the World Bank, Garba has consistently led end-to-end design and management of education programmes and reforms, from conceptualisation to completion and impact assessment. “The…

Nigeria is set to benefit from three major loan projects totalling $1.65 billion in 2025, courtesy of the global financial institution, the World Bank. According to information obtained from the World Bank’s website, it (World Bank) is set to decide on three major loan projects for Nigeria in 2025, as part of efforts to address critical developmental challenges in the country. The loans, currently in the pipeline, will focus on internally displaced persons, education, and nutrition enhancement. According to reports, the loans are designed to support Nigeria’s social and economic recovery, particularly in vulnerable sectors requiring urgent intervention. The first…

A National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) member deployed to Kebbi State, Tayachibiyacha Ebal, has tragically passed away after collapsing at the Dakin Gari Orientation Camp.Reports indicate that Ebal suddenly slumped and was immediately rushed to the camp clinic for urgent medical attention. She was later transferred to the Federal Medical Centre in Birnin-Kebbi for advanced treatment. Despite efforts by medical professionals to revive her, she was pronounced dead. The Kebbi State Commissioner for Youth and Sports, Alhaji Muhammad Fingila, confirmed the incident to journalists in Birnin-Kebbi. He described the event as unfortunate and expressed condolences to the deceased’s family on…

A bill seeking to prohibit the use of foreign currency in Nigeria has passed first reading in the Senate. The bill was sponsored by the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Reparations and Repatriation, Senator Ned Nwoko. The bill, titled “A Bill for an Act to Alter the Central Bank of Nigeria Act, 2007, No. 7, to Prohibit the Use of Foreign Currencies for Remuneration and Other Related Matters,” passed first reading on Monday. Recall that the proposed legislation is aimed at ensuring all payments including salaries and other transactions are done using the local currency, naira. According to Senator…

An explosive device planted close to a residential apartment block in Moscow killed the head of Russia’s Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Defence Forces, Lt. General Igor Kirillov, early Tuesday, Russia’s Investigative Committee said. Kirillov’s assistant also died in the blast, triggered by the device which was placed in a scooter, officials said. The bomb was triggered remotely, Russian state news agency Tass reported, citing unnamed sources in the emergency services.Russian investigators have opened a case into the two deaths, according to the committee’s spokesperson Svetlana Petrenko. “Investigators, forensic experts and operational services are working at the scene,” she said in…

Former Super Eagles managerJosé Peseiro has congratulated Ademola Lookman on being selected as the 2024 African Footballer of the Year by the Confederation of African Football (CAF). Sharing his thoughts on X (formerly Twitter) on Tuesday, Peseiro also praised the Super Eagles for their collective efforts, which contributed to Lookman’s achievement and ensured another Super Eagle succeeded the previous winner. The Portuguese, who led the Super Eagles to the final of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Côte d’Ivoire, described the award as well-deserved, reflecting Lookman’s importance to Nigerian and African football. Peseiro’s tweet read: “Congratulations @molalookman on…

Nigeria’s 30 universities of agriculture have been empowered to immediately commence mechanized farming with the approval of N30 billion by the federal government. Disclosing this on Tuesday in Abuja while declaring open a retreat organized by the Ministry of Education for pro-chancellors of federal universities, the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, directed specialized universities to focus strictly on their core mandates and cease offering programmes unrelated to their original purpose. The minister stressed the importance of universities of agriculture owning and operating mechanized farming systems. He added that each university would receive N1 billion as a take-off grant for…