BREAKING NEWS

  The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has officially inaugurated a Visa Application and document attestation Centre in Lagos, Nigeria at the office of the Consulate General of the United Arab Emirates, 8th floor, Nipost Towers, 1, Ologun Agbaje Street, off Adeola Odeku, Victoria Island, Lagos. The Consul General Dr Abdulla Al Mandoos in the presence of prominent government officials such as the special adviser to the Lagos State Government on Sustainable Development Goals and Investment, Solape Hammond; Comptroller General of Immigration for Lagos State, Ahmed Aliyu; Country Manager of Emirates airline, Paulos Legesse; Vice president of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Gbenga Ismail; Head of UAE visa Centre, Abdulla Alqahtani and several media houses were present to witness the centre’s unveiling ceremony. Dr Abdulla led the visitors on a tour of the centre, reaffirming that despite the current challenges of the pandemic, the United Arab Emirates still avails itself of the op...

  In a game that ended in controversy, Mali successfully secured a 1-0 win over Tunisia at the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Group F. A 48th-minute penalty by Ibrahima Kone won the game for the Malians, whose keeper Ibrahim Mounkoro later saved a spot-kick from Tunisia’s Wahbi Khazri. The Carthage Eagles coach Mondher Kebaier and his technical staff rushed onto the field at full-time after referee Janny Sikazwe failed to add any injury time. The Tunisian side must have been that pissed because the second half saw two stoppages for video assistant referee checks, as well as a drinks break. The second half had also seen several substitutions in five separate windows, plus Mali ended the game with 10 men following an 87th-minute red card to El Bilal Toure. Nevertheless, all three points wete bagged by Mali, who now sit at the top of Group F, with the other group game between Gambia and Mauritania billed to take place later on Wednesday.

  All people are indeed living histories, but they are only consciously read when they eventually check out of the world. The final cock of Chief Christopher Adebayo Alao Akala crew at dawn today, after the 71-year-old had reportedly battled illness for some while. The father of seven reportedly died in his hometown in Ogbomosho, Oyo state. Until his death, he held firmly the political fabric of Ogbomosho. This is with due credit to his grassroot influence and development contributions to the town when he was governor. Ogbomosho is the only town outside Ibadan which has produced a governor for Oyo state since 1999. Ripples Nigeria brings to you, a highlight of his life and trajectory through enduring childhood hardship, police cadetship, and eventually to being a governor in Oyo state. Chief Alao-Akala  was born on June 3, 1950, but two years after his birth, he became fatherless. In 1952, he lost his father in a ghastly motor accident at Iroko via Ibadan on his way to Ogbomos...

  The founder of BUA Foods, Abdulsamad Rabiu, lost 0.66 percent of his wealth on Monday despite the rise in the value of his staple food company. However, his market rival, Aliko Dangote cemented his position as Africa’s richest man following the increase in his networth by 2.84 percent. Rabiu’s fortune dropped to $4.5 billion after losing N12.40 billion at the close of trading on the floor of the Nigerian stock market on Monday, dropping to sixth in Africa’s rich list. The company’s stock was priced low at the capital market, with holders selling at N68.50kobo per share, below the N69 stakeholders offered the equity on Friday.   However, BUA Foods crossed the trillion naira mark in the capital market where it is now valued at N1.05 trillion, four days after listing on the bourse. While Rabiu lost N12.40 billion, Dangote made a whooping N146.34 billion ($354 million) to end the day with $12.8 billion. The improvement in Dangote’s fortune was driven by the 4 percent rise in the...

  Super Eagles players representing Nigeria at the ongoing African Nations Cup (AFCON) in Cameroon will receive payments in cryptocurrency throughout their stay in the tournament. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had last year banned trading in cryptocurrency in the country. Although the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) will pay the players in Naira for wearing the country’s colours at  AFCON , some of them will earn crypto for their exploits in Africa’s flagship soccer tournament due to the involvement of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, Binance, in the tournament. Binance recently sealed a sponsorship deal with the Confederation of African Football (CAF) for the tournament. Players representing the 24 countries participating in the AFCON are expected to benefit from the largesse. The Binance Director for Africa, Emmanuel Babalola, who spoke on the development said: “Football is the most popular sport in Africa, one that unites the entire continent and as the l...

  The United States Mint has started distributing quarters featuring the image of Maya Angelou, making the poet and activist the first Black woman to appear on US currency.   The quarter features an image of Angelou with her arms uplifted, a bird in flight, and a rising sun behind her, with a portrait of George Washington on the “heads” side. The US Mint said the image of Angelou was “inspired by her poetry and symbolic of the way she lived”.  The poet and writer, who died in 2014, was the author of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, in which she wrote about the racial discrimination she experienced growing up.   Maya Angelou, the author of 36 books and the recipient of more than 20 honorary degrees, read her poem On the Pulse of the Morning at Bill Clinton’s 1992 inauguration, and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Barack Obama in 2010. “Each time we redesign our currency, we have the chance to say something about our country – w...

  Following trends through the year can be a tall order, especially when it involves tracking milestones recorded by startups in a fast paced economy and space. Through our tech desk at Ripples Nigeria we were able to report on these many developments as timely as possible, showcasing strides recorded by many startups -even as similar ventures continue to compete for a considerable share of the market. While the devastating effect of Covid-19 pandemic still leaves tell-tale impact on the economy, the year 2021 was quite a relief from the situation of things. This could be observed in the performance of startups in the year under review. Taking off from 2020, a new decade race was launched and we saw the springing up of new names virtually in every market in the tech ecosystem. For instance, we saw the emergence of Teesas in the edtech space, a market where uLesson, the Jos-headquartered edtech startup, remains a dominate player. Looking at some of the biggest raisers that made head...

Super Eagles captain, Ahmed Musa says the the team is ready to battle the Pharaohs of Egypt in Group D opening game of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon on January 11. Speaking in an interview with the Super Eagles Media Officer after the team’s training session on Saturday at the VSTS-Annex OF Roumde Adjia Stadium, Garoua, Musa said the team was in high spirits. Musa scored a goal in Nigeria’s 2-0 win over Cotonsports on Friday in a practice match to help the players tune up as Augustine Eguavoen prepares to take the team to AFCON glory. “It was good as you can see. Yesterday we had training and today, we had another training. All I can say is that we are ready for the first game against Egypt. Thank God the other players we are expecting is in camp this morning and we are still expecting Collins." “Definitely I talk to the players because we know what is important. This tournament we know if we can win it, it’s going to be a big impact to our own country and family too....

A researcher in Cyprus has discovered a strain of the coronavirus that combines the delta and omicron variants.   Leondios Kostrikis, professor of biological sciences at the University of Cyprus, and head of the Laboratory of Biotechnology and Molecular Virology, called the strain “deltacron,” because of its omicron-like genetic signatures within the delta genomes. Kostrikis and his team said they have found 25 cases of the virus, according to Bloomberg News. It’s still too early to tell whether there are more cases of the strain.   “We will see in the future if this strain is more pathological or more contagious or if it will prevail” against the two dominant strains, delta and omicron, Kostrikis said in an interview with Sigma TV Friday. He believes omicron will also overtake deltacron, he added.   The researchers sent their findings this week to GISAID, an international database that tracks viruses, according to Bloomberg. The deltacron variant comes as omicron co...

  Former Deputy President of the Nigerian Senate, Ike Ekweremadu, has said that he visited leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, in the custody of the Department of State Services.  Though he did not specify the date and time of his visit to Kanu, he said his visit was in line of seeking political solution for the release of the IPOB leader. Ekweremadu said he went in company with some Igbo leaders like Deputy Minority Leader of the Senate, Enyinnaya Abaribe; Secretary-General, Okey Emuchay; and Archbishop of Methodist Church of Nigeria and Co-Chair Interfaith Dialogue Forum for Peace, Bishop Sunday Onuoha. He also reacted to President Muhammadu Buhari’s remarks on Channels Television interview on Wednesday where he said Kanu should defend himself in court.  Speaking via his verified Facebook page on Saturday, Ekweremadu said, "Political solution in the Nnamdi Kanu's matter is still very feasible. I also watched the Channels Television interview and...

Even to a casual observer, 2021 was a massive year for the African tech ecosystem. It was the year when there were more disclosed funding rounds than we could keep up with. Data from various sources show that startups on the continent received over $4 billion from investors in 2021. That represents more than double the investments gotten in 2020. Numbers, they say, don’t lie, and with help from Briter Bridges’ Africa Investment Report 2021 and data from Africa: The Big Deal, we’ll be extracting some insights. Funding for women-led startups needs to be better Much has been written about the near absence of financing for women-led startups. While startup funding continues to grow, it is still disproportionately skewed towards startups led by men or at least one man on the founding team. The Big Deal reports that only 0.95% of the funding raised by African startups went to startups founded or led by a woman. While this percentage is less than that of 2020 (2%), it is partly explained by t...

  Paul Pogba has dismissed reports that he has been offered a new deal by Manchester United.   Reports  by The Sun on Friday January 7, stated that Pogba was offered fresh terms worth £500,000-per-week last summer that would have made him the highest paid player in the English premier league But a spokesman for Pogba has issued a statement to deny suggestions of a recently extended contract offer from United. The Frenchman is currently focusing on returning to action from injury and has entered the final six months of his contract. ''To clarify media reports, Paul has not been offered a new contract in recent months. Paul is fully focused on his recovery from injury with the aim of helping the team as soon as possible.'' a statement from Pogba's spokesman to Sportsmail read. Pogba is in the final year of his contract and is free to speak to foreign clubs over a pre-contract agreement this month.  If Manchester United and Pogba are unable to come to terms on a new de...

  Sylvester Oromoni, the father of Dowen College student, late Sylvester Oromoni Jnr, has vowed not to bury his son even if takes him 30 years until his son gets justice.   Oromoni said this while reacting to the statement from the Lagos state Commissioner of Police, Hakeem Odumosu, that the autopsies carried out on late Oromoni Jnr's body in Warri and Lagos showed he died a natural death. Read  here.   While speaking to Punch, Mr. Oromoni said   “The family does not have power. We only rely on God. If they insist that the school will reopen, there is no problem. If God keeps me for 20 or 30 years, I will follow up this case. Government will come, the government will go. I am not bothered. The soul of that boy is crying round. God is alive; He cannot be bribed. My son will never be buried. If it takes me 30 years to get justice, he would remain there (in the mortuary). He is my son; I won’t bury him. Nigerians should look beyond what they are saying.''...

  Lionel Messi, Mohamed Salah, and Robert Lewandowski have been announced as the final three nominees for the FIFA Best Awards men’s player of the year. The award is voted for by a jury made up of current men's national team coaches and captains, one specialist journalist from each territory represented by a national team, and fans registered on FIFA.com. Paris St Germain's superstar, Lionel Messi finally ended his wait for major international silverware in 2021 as he helped Argentina to win the Copa America.  Liverpool striker, Salah is the Premier League's top goalscorer so far this season, with 16 to his name, and is arguably in the best form of his life. Bayern Munich striker, Lewandowski enjoyed another spectacular year at club level for Bayern, scoring a Bundesliga record 41 goals in the 2020-21 season to eclipse the previous best total set by Gerd Muller in the 1971-72 campaign. The award winners will be announced in a virtual ceremony on January 17.

  Apple CEO Tim Cook reportedly received a big $98million payout in 2021, while also gaining access to $754million in company shares.    Cook, 61, who is worth $1.5billion, enjoyed the luxurious earnings during the 2021 fiscal year, which ended in September, according to SEC filings.  He also now has access to $754million in company shares that vested in August from an old grant, although it is unclear if he has chosen to sell any of that stock. Cook additionally sits on shares worth $37.5million in the company that will vest annually over three years starting in 2023.    His earnings rose after Apple had a stellar year - the company earned $365million in sales and had a 33 percent growth in revenue.    Among the $98million Cook earned in the 2021 fiscal year, $3million of it was his annual salary and he earned another $12million in bonuses for hitting Apple's financial and environmental sustainability goals.    He also received a large ...

  Aston Villa have completed the sensational loan signing of Philippe Coutinho from Barcelona with an announcement to be made later.  The Brazilian midfielder has agreed to return to the Premier League until the end of the sea The deal sees Coutinho reunited with his former Liverpool team-mate Steven Gerrard, who is the current coach of Aston Villa.  According to SportsMail, Villa boss Gerrard was the key factor in Coutinho’s decision to sign for Villa given his close relationship with the Anfield legend.  Following talks with Gerrard, attacking midfielder Coutinho was left completely convinced to make a move to Villa Park.  Sportsmail revealed Villa’s efforts to sign Coutinho on Wednesday afternoon and the deal has moved on rapidly since then.  A number of clubs across the Premier League and Europe were willing to sign Coutinho but the influence of Gerrard made the 29-year-old choose Villa.   

  The Lagos state Commissioner of Police, Hakeem Odumosu, this afternoon held a press briefing where he spoke more on the investigations into the death of Dowen college student, Sylvester Oromoni.   Speaking to the press, Odumosu said the results from the first and second autopsies carried out on Sylvester's body in Delta and Lagos state indicated that he died a natural death.   ''A post mortem examination was initially carried out on 2nd December, 2021 by a Consultant Pathologist, Dr. Clement Vhriterhire of the Central Hospital, Warri, Delta State. The result of the first autopsy dated 10th December, 2021 attributed the cause of death to ‘acute lung injury due to chemical intoxication in a background of blunt force trauma’. However, toxicology screening was recommended and also carried out. While waiting for the result of the toxicology, another autopsy was ordered by the Coroner Magistrate in Lagos because of the status of jurisdiction. The corpse was, therefo...