Renowned actor John Okafor, famously known as Mr Ibu, is reportedly facing a deteriorating health condition, leading to severe communication challenges as he hardly talks again. Dr Emeka Rollas, the National President of the Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN), disclosed that Mr Ibu underwent another surgery recently, resulting in the partial amputation of the same leg that was previously operated on. Expressing sadness over the development, Mr. Rollas said, “We are resigning to fate concerning the two actors. “As I speak with you, Mr Ibu hardly talks again, and he has undergone another leg amputation,” Rollas added. He revealed that N250,000 has been sent to the ailing actor’s account from the AGN Trust Fund.

This is even as The Guardian gathered that the 10th House of Representatives has put up a motion to undertake six reforms on the electoral system via amendments to the Electoral Act 2022. “There is no provision for the electronic transmission of election results in the Electoral Act 2022. Speaking after the judgment, Atiku proposed some amendments to the Electoral Act, which he believed would help democracy to thrive in Nigeria. INEC cannot continue to monitor political parties, political crimes and electoral crimes. She said: “Reviewing the Electoral Act is part of the solution; the issue is the implementation.

“This situation is untenable; we urgently appeal to the parties involved in the conflict to cease their hostilities to protect the population. The December spike in extreme violence, including killings and kidnappings, comes within a wider context of insecurity in Zamfara State. Only two days later, a second attack obliged the team to sleep in the security room inside the hospital. “Our teams are committed to providing medical support to the Nigerian population in Zamfara State. MSF also implements activities in the Shinkafi General Hospital and in Talata Mafara and Gummi with paediatric units and malnutrition centres.

In October, the military leaders announced a 40-percent cut in the 2023 budget due to the “heavy sanctions imposed by international and regional organisations”. On Sunday, ECOWAS leaders in Abuja said any easing of the punitive measures against Niger was contingent on a “short transition” period. The bloc also decided that a committee made up of the presidents of Benin, Togo and Sierra Leone would lead negotiations with the Nigerien military leaders on the commitments to be implemented. ECOWAS said on Thursday that Niger is now “suspended from all decision-making bodies” of the organisation, “until constitutional order is re-established”. Niger’s military leaders have previously said they want up to three years for a transition back to civilian rule.

Photo by Hristo ShindovWrapping their run as support for several dates of the Metallica M72 World Tour throughout 2023, arena mainstays Five Finger Death Punch have announced plans to headline a run of Europe for the summer of 2024 in support of their 2022 full length, Afterlife. Coinciding with a handful of European dates of the M72 World Tour, resuming their run as support for Metallica, 5FDP will also headline a stretch of EU/UK shows with Ice Nine Kills joining as support throughout. In addition to the Metallica dates, FIve Finger Death Punch will also make a few highly-touted festival appearances, with sets planned for Sweden Rock Festival, Graspop in Belgium and Full Force in Germany just to include a few. As for the band's headlining summer tour, the dates begin with a hugely anticipated set at London's OVO Arena on May 23rd, 2024 and will conclude July 9th in Budapest before closing out the run with Metallica in Madrid, Spain on July 15th. Tickets for the Five Finger Death Punch 2024 EU/UK Summer Tour can be purchased - HERE

The Managing Director of Design Protocol, Bayo Adelemo, has called for deliberate efforts to be made to inculcate leadership skills in schoolchildren. He made the call during the second edition of the company’s EmpowerMD programme, which was held in Lagos recently. The EmpowerMD programme is an initiative by Design Protocol aimed at providing creative and talented children between the ages of 7 and 13 with mentorship and guidance that can contribute to their personal and educational development. Also, the initiative is focused on exposing them to leadership opportunities by having them serve as Design Protocol’s Managing Director for a single day. Speaking during his welcome remarks at the event, Adalemo called on players in the private and public sectors to key into the EmpowerMD initiative and prioritise the proper grooming of the up-and-coming generation.

In a surprising bit of news, filmmaker Zack Snyder has revealed that a ‘Snydercut’ version of his divisive 2011 fantasy feature “Sucker Punch” is in the works. Speaking with Inverse whilst promoting “Rebel Moon,” he says the new version will go beyond the ‘extended’ version seen on disc. However it’s frankly impossible that he’d get a similar budgetary bump for a “Sucker Punch” redux. “If Netflix owned the rights to the DC characters in my extended universe, of course! Yeah, no question.”It also hits as the first reactions to the first part of his “Rebel Moon” saga has arrived with a seemingly mixed response so far.

A new study published in The Journal of Nutrition shows daily consumption of prunes may reduce inflammation markers connected to bone signaling pathways and reduce the effects of bone loss among postmenopausal women. California Prunes are nutritious and versatile. Image Credit: California Prune BoardBone loss is a significant issue impacting more than 50% of women over the age of 50, and there is no cure. This is an ancillary study of a larger, single-center, parallel-arm, 12-month randomized control trial (PRUNE study). “For example, the previous study I led showed connections between hip bone integrity and daily consumption of prunes—where postmenopausal women who did not eat prunes lost 1.5% of their hip bone density compared to women who ate 5-6 prunes daily.

Indian Continent Investment, a firm linked to Airtel Africa board member, Shravin Bharti Mittal, has acquired a substantial amount of the telco shares to cross the 15 per cent threshold in terms of its stakes in the multinational firm. As a result of the acquisition, Indian Continent Investment via Bharti Overseas Private now had voting rights over 567,665,566 shares in Airtel Africa, representing 15.1 per cent of the company. That marked a notable increase from its previous position, which stood at 12.58 per cent of the firm. Indian Continent’s latest acquisition comes just over a month ago when it bought Airtel’s shares worth £57.25m, which bumped its stakes to 12.58 per cent. The firm registered in Mauritius bought 53,500,000 units of Airtel Africa at £1.07 per unit.

Interestingly, before President Bola Tinubu got elected as the first citizen, he had been an avowed evangelist of the restructuring gospel through the years. His bold re-arrangement of the political and governing structure of Lagos State between 1999 and 2007 is a reference point. These moves perhaps portrayed Tinubu as a man who would be able to see through the restructuring of Nigeria’s governing system. The skeptics also wondered why President Tinubu deliberately kept quiet when former Vice President Yemi Osinbajo was promoting diversification instead of restructuring during the last administration. For instance, we are talking about the local government system in Nigeria, which is not acceptable to us.

MENA Sports Wrap: Turkey's football has been suspended after a referee was punched by a club president. The FIFA Club World Cup meanwhile kicked off in Saudi Arabia with Jeddah side Al-Ittihad gliding seamlessly into round two. Ankaragucu fans cheered on their club president as he attacked the Meler, Anadolu reported. RELATED Turkish club president punches referee in the face SportsKoca was also hospitalised overnight due to a heart attack risk. Club World Cup kicks-off in Saudi ArabiaJeddah side Al-Ittihad began their FIFA Club World Cup campaign, held this year in Saudi Arabia, on Tuesday with a comfortable win over Auckland City FC.

Ahead of the Yuletide celebrations, the Delta State Police Command has banned the sale and use of firecrackers in the state in order not to compromise security. “The Delta State Commissioner of Police, CP Wale Abass, bans the sale and use of fireworks, knockouts, firecrackers, and other pyrotechnics in Delta State. “He warns that it threatens State security and should be avoided. “The CP warned in strong terms that any dealer or resident who fails to abide by the ban, when caught, would be made to face the wrath of the law. “The Commissioner of Police on behalf of officers and men of the Command, wishes the good people of Delta State a crime-free Christmas and New Year celebrations in advance,” the statement read.

Stronger signaling from the Federal Reserve that interest rate cuts are on the menu in 2024 understandably sent both stocks and bonds soaring on Wednesday. And would stock investors celebrate an economy that requires the Fed to lower its policy rate by 150 basis points? So perhaps they signal to markets that cuts are coming at the March, May and June meetings. In that world, much of the stock market rally of the past six or seven weeks seems misplaced. As things stand the stock market seems to have a better read on what’s likely to happen.

An evening rush-hour accident on the Beijing metro left 102 people with fractures after a rear-end collision on an above-ground section of tracks, state media said. The accident occurred just before 7pm Thursday, when the last two cars of a metro train separated from the carriages in front of them, authorities initially reported. No deaths had been recorded, state media said. Social media users reported seeing passengers fall to the ground, with some complaining of back pain. “We sincerely apologise for the accident that occurred this evening,” Beijing Subway, the train’s operator, said on Weibo.

If you’re a workaholic or you hardly have time to relax, there are a few activities that you can engage in the coming year, 2024. RestThis means you’ll exempt yourself from deep work or work and just breathe. Some prefer solemn music, while others prefer songs that they will move their bodies to. Evening walksGoing on a long walk is another way you can relax in 2024. This practice can help you to relieve your stress, curb burnout and keep anxiety in check.