Good morning! In today’s trending news stories;
1. Following the President of Iran, Ebrahim Raisi call to other Islamic and Arab countries to join forces in combatting Israel, the Israeli military advised the evacuation of all civilians in Gaza City to the area south of the Wadi Gaza ahead of a ground incursion into the Palestinian territory. However, on Friday, Hamas rejected the order for 1.1 million of its residents to evacuate northern Gaza. Currently, more than 1,530 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli airstrikes.
2. Following the resignation of the suspended former Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr. Abdulrasheed Bawa, President Bola Tinubu on Thursday appointed Mr. Ola Olukoyede as the Executive Chairman of EFCC for a renewable term of four years, pending the confirmation of the Senate. Olukoyede had initially served as the Chief of Staff to the former Executive Chairman.
3. The Governor of Enugu State, Peter Mbah on Thursday, declared the start of the construction of 71 urban roads by December 2023. The urban roads include the 40 km Owo-Isiuzo-Obollo and the 40km Owo-Ubahu-Amankanu- Neke-Ikem dual carriageway. The first phase of the project will cover 26 square km consisting of Happy Island, Vitality Bay, and the Innovation Park. Governor Mbah declared his aim of constructing at least 10,000km of roads in the next eight years to create opportunities for Enugu state residents.
4. The Central Bank of Nigeria has declared its plan to raise the dollar supply in the foreign exchange market. It also lifted the ban on 43 unqualified items that were not qualified for forex at the official market. The decision was reached following pressure from international organizations and financial experts after the naira swooped to 1,050/$ at the parallel market on Thursday.
5. The executive board of the International Olympic Committee has suspended the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) ‘with immediate effect until further notice’. The decision was prompted by the ROC last Thursday, recognition of regional organizations from four Ukrainian territories that were unlawfully annexed by Russia in 2022. The IOC deemed it a violation of the Olympic Charter, as it infringes upon the territorial integrity of the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine. Consequently, the ROC will no longer be recognized as a National Olympic Committee and will not be eligible to receive any financial support from the Olympic movement.
6. The Morocco women’s team has appointed former Spain manager Jorge Vilda as the head coach. It is worth noting that Vilda had led Spain to the Women’s World Cup title, defeating England by a single goal in the final. However, he was sacked within a month due to the repercussions of the Luis Rubiales scandal.
7. The wake-keeping ceremony of the mother of Ayodeji Ibrahim Balogun, popularly known as Wizkid, who passed away on August 18, 2023, in London, was held on Thursday, 13 October 2023. During the event, Wizkid gave a heartfelt speech expressing that the loss of his mother, Mrs. Jane Dolapo Balogun, was the most pain he had ever experienced.
