Good morning! In today’s trending news stories:
1. The former minister of petroleum resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, has been granted a £70,000 bail by Michael Snow of the Westminster Magistrates Court in the United Kingdom on Monday, October 2. This was over the UK’s National Crime Agency’s (NCA) £100,000 bribery allegation against her in August. She was suspected of collecting bribes amidst awarding a multi-million-pound oil and gas contract. She will be appearing at the Southwark Crown Court again on Monday, October 30, to answer questions on other criminal cases.
2. The Chicago State University has released the academic records of President Bola Tinubu on the order by the Illinois United States (U.S.) court. Prior to his election, Tinubu had claimed to misplaced his original certificates. However, he presented a replacement for his CSU diploma to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) ahead of the 2023 presidential election. The university confirmed President Tinubu graduated in 1979 and maintained that the certificates matched the formats of President Tinubu’s replacement, dated June 27, 1997.
3. The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC) have suspended their planned indefinite nationwide strike, which was set to begin on Tuesday, October 3. This was after the Federal Government granted a relief of N35,000 to all Federal Government workers for a six-month period.
4. The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas appoints Prof. Jake Dan-Azumi as his Chief of Staff. The announcement was issued by his spokesperson, Musa Krishi, on Monday, who said the new Chief of Staff will replace Wasiu Olanrewaju-Smart, who had been the acting Chief of Staff. With several qualifications to his name, Krishi noted the credibility of Azumi as he has “extensive experience in development work focusing on democratic governance and public policy, parliamentary institutional strengthening, research, peace and security, human rights, conflict, and peacebuilding and gender.”
5. The Nobel Prize in Physiology/Medicine has been awarded to Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman for their work on mRNA vaccines, which was crucial in curtailing the spread of COVID-19. The Nobel Prize committee announced the award, in Sweden on Monday. The committee cited their “groundbreaking findings” as the pinnacle of scientific achievement which “fundamentally changed our understanding of how mRNA interacts with our immune system.”
6. Young Manchester United duo Sam Murray and Rhys Bennett compare Dan Gore to Lionel Messi after he scores a solo left-foot goal for the club’s Under 21s on Saturday. Meanwhile, the co-owner of Inter Miami, Jorge Mas, promised he would “do everything possible” to ensure Lionel Messi returned to FC Barcelona to “say goodbye to his fans” there.
7. Former Manchester United player Zlatan Ibrahimovic has questioned Erik ten Hag’s future amid Manchester United’s four losses in their seven opening Premier League games. “United has to win, they have to win every title they play for. Now they are being dominated by neighbours Manchester City and it’s a totally different situation there. Everybody has a responsibility to fulfill the demands,” he said.
